North Coast - Peru - page 754

night. Boats line the waterfront of Puerto Pizarro and cost S30 per hour per boat; you can
do a tour of the mangroves and the above-mentioned sites for S40 per boat for up to six
people. Two good options are Turmi ( 97-298-6199; Grau s/n) , the boatman's associ-
ation, which is your best bet for small groups and independent travelers; or Manglaris
Tours ( 78-3734; Grau s/n) , which has bigger boats and prices as cheap as S7 per per-
son for the standard tour. Both hang out along the walkway to the pier. Tour companies in
Tumbes also provide guided tours to the area.
A quick and easy independent day trip from Tumbes is a visit to Isla Hueso de Ballena
, which has a few lunch restaurants. They are all pretty ramshackle, but Restaurante
Hueso de Ballena (mains S25-28; 9am-6pm) is pretty ideal, right on the sand with a
few hammocks as well. It promises an 'orgy of shellfish' and is a good place to try the
local specialty, conchas negras (black shells) as well as ceviche, seafood rices, chichar-
rónes and soups, with ingredients all plucked fresh from the water. Boats will take you out
to the restaurants and back for S25, including wait time.
There are regular combis between Puerto Pizarro and Tumbes (S1.50, 15 minutes).
RESERVA DE BIOSFERA DEL NOROESTE
The Northwestern Biosphere Reserve consists of four protected areas that cover 2344 sq
km in the department of Tumbes and northern Piura. A lack of government funding means
that there is little infrastructure or tourist facilities - much of what exists was funded by
organizations such as the Fundación Peruana para la Conservación de la Naturaleza
(FPCN; also called ProNaturaleza), with assistance from international bodies such as the
WWF.
Information about the area is available from the Tumbes office of Sernanp (
072-52-6489; www.sernanp.gob.pe ; Panamericana Norte 1739, Tumbes;
8:30am-12:30pm & 3:30-5:30pm Mon-Fri) , the government department in charge of ad-
ministering this region. You will need to get permission papers to visit any of the protec-
ted areas on your own; these are free and take minutes to organize, though visits are no
longer recommended due to safety concerns.
Tour companies in Tumbes can arrange tours to the two most visited areas, Parque Na-
cional Cerros de Amotape and Santuario Nacional los Manglares de Tumbes, as can Grillo
3 Puntos Ecohostel in Zorritos. There are few roads into these areas and visiting during
the wet months of December to April can prove very difficult.
Parque Nacional Cerros de Amotape
The tropical dry forest ecosystem of Cerros de Amotape is protected by this 1515-sq-km
national park, which makes up the lion's share of the Biosfera and is home to flora and