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Cutervo
The Cutervo National Park is the first natural area of this category, established by the Peruvian State by Law Nº 13694 passed on September 8, 1961.
 Its existence was a decisive precedent for the creation of the present Sistema Nacional de Areas Naturales Protegidas por el Estado - SINANPE - (National System of State- Protected Natural Areas). This National Park is located in the department of Cajamarca, province of Cutervo, San Andres de Cutervo district, on an area of 2 500 hectares.
Its principal attraction is the Cave of the Guacharos, at one-hour walk from the town of San Andres. This cave is the abode of a colony of nocturnal birds named guácharos or oilbirds
(Steatornis caripensis), and the rivulet running through this cave is home to the 'bagre de las cavernas' or cave catfish (Astroblepus
rosei).
The Park also shelters some endangered species of wild fauna such as the jaguar
(Panthera onça), the ocelot (Leopardus
pardalis), the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), the river otter
(Lontra longicaudis), the pampas cat
(Oncifelis colocolo), the mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque), the pilco or golden-headed quetzal
(Pharomachrus auriceps) and the cock-of-the-rock
(Rupicola peruviana).
The flora in this Park is extraordinarily rich and varied, including even some endemic species. There are also some tropical pastures, locally known as pajonales; elfin forests and cloud forests; extraordinarily beautiful tiny orchids; and arboreous vegetation composed of many valuable species such as the quina tree or cascarilla
(Cinchona sp.), the cedar (Cedrela
sp.), the oak tree (Nectandra sp.), the Peruvian walnut (Juglans neotropica) and the Andean alder
(Alnus jorullensis).
The main aim of the Cutervo National Park is the protection of its flora and fauna, as well as the preservation of the beautiful landscape of the Cordillera de los Tarros.
The Cutervo National Park, located 161,56 mi. north of Cajamarca city (14 hours and 30 minutes by car), is particularly famous for the guacharos, or nocturnal birds living in the Cave of the Guacharos, and extraordinarily attractive for its beautiful landscape of tropical pastures or pajonales; elfin forests and cloud forests.
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