Madre Selva Biological Station (3,37'2"S, 72,14'8"W) History & Background:

Madre Selva Biological Station was the first of Project Amazonas' three field stations, and is the most developed of the stations with the capacity of hosting the largest groups. The station was founded in 1994 and protects 192 ha (about 480 acres) of land. Through an agreement with the Yagua Indian community of Comandancia, Project Amazonas manages an additional area of native community land of about 400 ha (about 1000 acres) for use by researchers and other station users. Since its creation, Madre Selva has rapidly grown into the most utilized of the Project Amazonas field sites. It is the favored site for educational groups due to ease of access, comfortable and convenient facilities, and the easy access to a wide variety of terrestrial and aquatic habitats, as well as to local Yagua Indian and other communities in the region.

Location & Habitats:

Madre Selva is located 150 river km (90 river miles) east of Iquitos on the south bank of the Rio Orosa, with facilities near or overlooking Tunche Cano (Ghost Creek), a tributary of the Rio Orosa, a black-water river. This lower portion of the Rio Orosa is an ancient channel of the Amazon, and during high water, Amazon River water enters the Orosa at several points up- and down-stream from Madre Selva, imparting a strong seasonal white-water influence to this otherwise black-water river. Land near the Orosa River and along Tunche Cano is seasonally flooded (varzea and/or igapo forest), while further inland the terrain is a mixture of low rolling hills and fairly steep ravines. Across the Rio Orosa from the field station is an extensive area of seasonally flooded swamp forest and floodplain lakes, and at moderate to high water there is easy access to the sandbars, mud-flats, floating meadows and river islands of the Amazon River itself.

Facilities:

The station provides housing for up to 30 persons in four open-sided traditional-style elevated houses with Irapay palm thatch roofs. The largest of the structures is screened. Large dome tents or mosquito nets are provided for protection from insects and for privacy, and beds, mattresses, and linens are included. Nearby modern flush toilets and showers are hooked to a septic drain field. A dining hall with attached fully equipped kitchen seats 35 comfortably, and doubles as an "assembly hall". A dedicated classroom/laboratory building with storage area in the rear is used by educational groups and researchers for various projects. Approximately 25 km of trails provide access to primary and secondary forest of varying ages. One long trail leads directly into the extensive unbroken forest that lies between the Rio Orosa and the Rio Yavari on the Brazilian frontier, approximately 75 km distant. A 50' observation tower was constructed in 2004, and has proved to be very popular with bird and monkey watchers and photographers. Click for a map of the trails.

Our Field stations

Madre Selva

Paucarillo

Sabalilo