Otuquis National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area, Protected natural area in Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia.
Otuquis National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area sits in southeastern Bolivia, where the country borders Brazil and Paraguay, covering a large section of the Bolivian Pantanal. The terrain shifts between wetlands, savanna, and patches of forest that flood during the rainy season and dry out in winter.
The sources consulted do not record a founding date for the protected area. What they establish is its extent: 1,005,950 hectares in the far southeast of Santa Cruz Department, on the borders with Brazil and Paraguay, split between 903,350 hectares of national park and 102,600 hectares of Integrated Management Natural Area. In 2001 the wider Bolivian Pantanal, of which it forms part, was designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance.
The park takes its name from the Otuke indigenous people who inhabit the region, not from the river. The protected area lies in the extreme southeast of Santa Cruz Department, within the provinces of Germán Busch and Cordillera, on the borders with Brazil and Paraguay.
The area is remote and paths can become impassable depending on the season, so traveling with a knowledgeable local guide is essential. Visiting during the dry season makes it easier to move around and reach the central parts of the park.
During certain seasons, the receding floodwaters leave behind shallow pools packed with fish, drawing large numbers of caimans, wading birds, and river otters to the same spot at once. This seasonal gathering makes some parts of the park among the best places in South America to watch wildlife up close.
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