Tatamá National Natural Park should not be confused with Tamá National Natural Park.
Tatamá National Natural Park | |
Alt Name: | PNN Tatamá |
Iucn Category: | II |
Map: | Colombia |
Relief: | 1 |
Label: | PNN Tatamá |
Label Position: | right |
Mark: | Blue_pog.svg |
Marker Size: | 10px |
Nearest City: | Pueblo Rico |
Area Ha: | 51900 |
Designation: | National Natural Park |
Established: | 1987 |
Administrator: | SINAP |
Tatamá National Natural Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Natural Tatamá or PNN Tatamá) is a national park in the Cordillera Occidental, Colombia. Established in 1987,[1] the park encompasses of primary west-Andean tropical and subtropical rainforest, temperate cloud forest, and páramo habitat in an area that spans the departments of Risaralda, Chocó and Valle del Cauca, within the Chocó bioregion.[2]
The protected area is of high scientific interest because of its rich biodiversity and the unique state of conservation of its ecosystems. The park is home to tributaries of the San Juan and Cauca Rivers and, in its highest elevation area, to Páramo Tatamá, which along Frontino and El Duende, represents one of the only three páramos in Colombia that have not been altered by humans. Cerro Tatamá, the highest peak in the Cordillera Occidental, reaching an elevation of, lies within the park.
Over 560 species of orchids can be found in the park, many of which are endemic to the area (such as the Montezuma maxillaria). The protected area is also a popular birding destination in Colombia with more than 620 bird species recorded, including 16 endemic to Colombia (of which seven are only found in the western Cordillera):[3] [4] [5]
The park can only be accessed via Montezuma Road (Spanish: Camino de Montezuma), a dirt road that starts in the town of Pueblo Rico and winds up Cerro Montezuma to a military base at its summit, . The Montezuma Rainforest Ecolodge property, located near the entrance of the park, is the main gateway to the protected area.