The forests of the TRZ were originally set aside in 1977 for long-term protection by the Peruvian government, as a direct result of research undertaken at the Explorers´ Inn. In 1990, and again thanks to the biological information gleaned from the forests around Explorers´ Inn, the 1,478,943 hectare Tambopata-Candamo Reserved Zone (TCRZ) was created. This conservation area has since been superceded by the TNR and the Bahuaja-Sonene National Park, the latter of which was created in 1996 and extended in 2000. It is well known that these internationally important protected areas would not have been created without the biological studies and other educational initiatives undertaken at and around the Explorers´ Inn over the last 28 years of operations.

Attractions:
Wildlife & Biodiversity:
Ornithologists working in forests immediately around the lodge have over the years recorded 600 different bird species, the highest count on Earth for any single locality, equivalent to an incredible 17% of all bird species known to occur in South America. Parrots, parakeets, motmots, trogons, jacamars, kingfishers, hummingbirds, tanagers, antbirds, woodcreepers and flycatchers are all common, along with the more sought after large macaws, toucans, harpy eagle, guans, trumpeters, horned screamers, tinamous and even hoatzins. In fact, several species of macaw, toucan, and both Spix's and Blue-throated piping guans can be seen easily without even leaving the porch in front of your room.

For those, with an interest in mammals, many species can be seen within close proximity of the lodge, including six species of monkey - dusky titi, squirrel, night, tamarin, red howler and capuchin. Furthermore, tamandua anteater, prehensile-tailed porcupine, capybara, agouti, coati, tayra, giant river otter, brocket deer and two species of peccary are seen regularly. Also present, but less frecuently seen, are three more monkey species, both giant and silky anteater, two species of sloths, tapir, bushdogs, small-eared dog, ocelot, puma and the ellusive jaguar. These large cats are sometimes sighted, in 1997 on 12 separate occasions. A bonus for the nature lover, are the great abundance of different insect species, which include an ample variety -and again the world's highest recorded numbers- of butterfly species (1200+ spp.) and dragonfly species (149 spp.), to name but a few.

Environment

Some of the ground-breaking natural science discoveries made at the Explorers' Inn 's, based on data collected by Resident Naturalists and visiting research scientists alike, have changed the way modern man interprets the tropical rainforest. It was at the Explorers´ Inn that experienced botanists improved their calculations regarding the high potential economic value of intact tropical rainforests, and where the importance of these forests from the global climate change perspective, as a potential explanation for the missing carbon sink, were realised. However, the most striking discoveries by far have come in the fields of taxonomy and that ubiquitous word - biodiversity. If any place on this planet could describe or opitomise this word it must be the Explorers´ Inn. Most of the biodiversity studies here have been conducted within a small area of forest behind the Explorer's Inn, equivalent in size to 1½ Central Parks (New York) or 2 Hyde Parks (London).

The famous entomologist and author O.E. Wilson, who has probably used the word biodiversity more times than anyone, discovered that there were more species of ant in a single large tree behind the Explorers' Inn than in the whole of the British Isles. Data published by Oliver Phillips and the late Alwyn Gentry, both emminent botanists, documented startling evidence of the exceptional levels of tree species diversity and turn-over rates in this forest. In addition, the late Theodore A. Parker III, the leading ornithologist of his time, encountered stagerring levels of bird diversity - a World record. The same can be said for butterflies, dragonflies, tigre beetles, and so on. The forests surrounding the Explorers' Inn 's, the Tambopata National Reserve (TNR), and the nearby Bahuaja Sonene National Park (BSNP) as a whole, are also home to numerous species that are very rare or highly endangered in the rest of their range. Here they are still thriving. Amongst these are the Giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), Giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla),

Giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus), Bush dog (Speothus venaticus), Small-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis), Maned wolf (Chrisocyon brachirus), Jaguarundi (Herpailurus yaguarundi), Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), Jaguar (Panthera onca), Crested eagle (Morphous guianensis), Harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja), Scarlet macaw (Ara macao), Red and green macaw (Ara chloroptera), Blue and yellow macaw (Ara ararauna), Blue-headed macaw (Ara couloni), Black caiman (Melanosuchus niger), Spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus), and Yellow-spotted side-necked turtle (Podocnemis unifilis), to name but a few. The high levels of biodiversity in this region can be partly explained by the variety of vegetation types, variations in altitude, and variations in weather conditions within and between years. The TNR and BSNP are situated within the transitional zone between humid tropical and subtropical rainforest and receive an average annual precipitation of 2,400 mm (data obtained from Explorers' Inn 's).

Temperature averages 24 oC but varies considerably from month to month with max temperatures of 38 oC and minimum temperatures of 8 oC. From north to south there exists an altitudinal gradient of more than 2,000 m. In the south and south-west there exist subtropical premontane forests and vegetation typical of the Yungas, whilst in the north there are lowland tropical forests, and to the east there are humid tropical savanas (Pampas del Heath). The Explorers' Inn 's is proud of the numerous biodiversity World records to its name, many of which still stand today, and we are priviledged to have many endangered species flourishing in the neighbourhood. The Explorers' Inn 's is indebted to the many researchers (including past Resident Naturalists) that have passed through its doors and the publications that they have written about the area's natural history. Without the knowledge documented by these people, there would not have been sufficient evidence on which to base the Explorers' Inn 's).