The Andes, which cuts across countless valleys that run down to the coast on one side and down to the jungle on the other, have made it possible for wildlife to adapt to a series of eco-systems by developing survival strategies.
The department of Tumbes features a tropical forest inhabited by plants from other regions, such as the cedar and fig trees as well as other species native to the Amazon forests such as the ceibo and guayacan, also found in the Equatorial dry forest. What is more, the forest also features several species of bromelias and fillandsias not to be found anywhere else in the country. Access to the Tumbes jungle is via a dirt road that runs out of the city of Tumbes itself.
The dry forest, located in the departments of Tumbes, Piura and Lambayeque, enjoys a dry, warm climate, with rains during summer, which favors the growth of abundant and unique plantlife. This territory features species such as the Begonia (Begonia pleioetala), the Cardenal (Euphorbia cotinifolia) and wild grenadine (Passiflora tenella).
In the Andes, regions between 1,000 and 3,500 meters are transit areas, where for topographical and climactic reasons, flowers from the valleys and highland plain grow alongside each other. The area features a large diversity of wild species from the tiny yareta flower (Azorella yareta) to the teeming clumps of flowers on the Puya Raimondi (Puya raimondii), delicate porporos (Passiflora trifoliata) or the colorful chochos (lupinus mutabilis).
Peru's cloud forests, between 2,000 and 3,000 masl, are home to the rarest flowers on Earth, including the bromelia (Aechmia SP) or giant begonia (Begonia sp.). There are several cloud forest regions in Peru, including the Chanchamayo Valley in the department of Junín.
