SERNANP

Yanachaga Chemillén National Park: Pleistocene refuge

Photography by Alonso López (2023).
Location: Pasco, Peru.

Yanachaga Chemillén National Park (PNYCH) is considered a 'Pleistocene refuge,' meaning a place that shelters forest relics due to geographical isolation during a relatively recent period in geological history. During this time, most areas now covered by Amazonian forests were occupied by herbaceous ecosystems due to severe climatic changes. The Pleistocene refuge theory explains why some Amazonian forests exhibit extremely high biological diversity.