Yasuni National Park, National park in Orellana Province, Ecuador.
Yasuni National Park is a protected area in Orellana Province, Ecuador, located between the Napo and Curaray rivers. Dense rainforest covers the territory, crossed by countless streams, smaller rivers, and still lagoons that extend toward the Amazon basin.
Ecuador declared the area a national park in 1979 to protect its biodiversity and indigenous territories. A decade later, UNESCO granted it Biosphere Reserve status and included the adjacent Waorani reserve within the designation.
The name comes from the Huaorani language and refers to the Yasuní River flowing through the territory. Visitors reach several community centers along the Napo, where local families offer insights into their connection with the forest and show paths to remote lagoons.
Most visitors reach the reserve by boat along the Napo River from Coca, as no roads penetrate the interior. Lodges and trails sit mainly along the riverbanks, where guides from local communities organize multi-day treks into the forest.
Scientists have counted more than 100,000 insect species on a single hectare, one of the highest concentrations on Earth. The same small area can hold up to 650 tree species, more than in all of North America combined.
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