Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area, National park in Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia.
Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco covers 3,441,115 hectares in Bolivia's Santa Cruz Department, along the Paraguayan border, making it larger than Belgium. It holds the largest tropical wooded area in the world, with the Parapetí as its main river and altitude from 100 to 839 metres at Cerro San Miguel. A reddish dirt track runs through low green scrub where a small grey-brown deer with dark legs and face may stand.
The protected area was established in 1995 through an agreement between Bolivia's government and the Izoceño-Guarani indigenous organization CABI. This partnership was designed to safeguard the region's natural resources for the future.
The name Kaa-Iya comes from Guarani mythology, meaning "master of the forest," a place of natural abundance. Around twenty Guarani communities, including Guarirenda, Rincón and Yapiroa, lie west of the park near the Bañados de Izozo, while the Chiquitano community of San Pablo is in the north. Izoceño, Chiquitano and Ayoreo artisans produce stylized craftwork, and uncontacted Ayoreo nomadic groups still live in the area.
Visiting the park requires careful planning, especially during wet seasons when many routes become difficult to travel. The road from Santa Cruz through Bajo Izoso to Camiri remains the most reliable year-round access point.
The area is home to one of South America's rarest mammals, the Chacoan peccary, which was once thought to be extinct. This species and many others can be found living in their natural habitat here.
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