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During the colonial era and part of the republican era, until the end of the 19th century, Puerto Maldonado's connection with the rest of the country and the world was characterized by periodic advances and retreats in extractive activities, which depended on European economic cycles. . The most relevant were the extractive economy of rubber, and towards the end of the 19th century the husk or cinchona, used to treat malaria, wood, chestnuts and gold. (Moore 1985; Eori 1990). Starting in the 20th century, rubber extraction was introduced into the Madre de Dios river basin, venturing through the Isthmus of Fitzcarrald and thus arriving at Puerto Maldonado, which at that time was a transit point for everyone who passed by. The boom in the price of gold after the Bretton Woods agreement in the 1940s, again pushed various settlers into the region in search of gold, which in the mark of a gradual process full of setbacks culminated in the construction of two roads: to Puerto Maldonado in the lower Madre de Dios, and to Shintuya in the upper Madre de Dios.



At present, the capital of Madre de Dios is characterized by the heterogeneity of the economic activities developed, distinguishing three economic fronts:



Extractive, consisting of gold exploitation activities, logging and non-timber forest extraction (chestnut);

Agricultural: Which includes agriculture, livestock, located around roads and the main waterways:

Conservation: Legacy of an indigenous territorial economy, it houses various indigenous peoples, ecotourism companies, and the set of protected natural areas.

The dynamics of commercial activity, in charge of articulating the three economic fronts, has an ever increasing behavior, thanks to migration from all parts of Peru.







Puerto Maldonado is a city in southeastern Peru, capital of the Department of Madre de Dios, located on the banks of the Madre de Dios River. It is one of the main commercial centers of the Amazon. It bears the official title of Capital of Biodiversity of Peru in recognition of important records of flora and fauna found in the department's forests, especially in Manu.



Madre de Dios is a department with abundant virgin forests and captivating landscapes. It is possibly the least intervened and eroded area of ​​the Peruvian Amazon. Furthermore, the combination of its rugged geography, its innumerable microclimates and the variety of its soils have led to the development of a diversity of living forms. Land of wide and leisurely rivers and beautiful lagoons surrounded by exuberant vegetation. Madre de Dios has the best soils in the entire Amazon rainforest, with the production of chestnuts and rubber being its main source of income. Likewise, the region is home to native tribes for whom the advance of civilization has not yet arrived. The main groups established in the region are the huarayos, mashcos, piros, amahuacas, yamanahuas, amaracaes and machiguengas.







In recent years, the boom in ecotourism and the promotion of the Manú National Park, the Tambopata National Reserve and the Bahuaja Sonene National Park have endowed this city with world interest due to the high degree of biodiversity among its forests. National and foreign tourists, scientists and scholars, arrive every day in the city of Puerto Maldonado, which is thus strengthened despite having been historically abandoned. The most important attractions are the Biodiversity Viewpoint, built in the center of the city, where you can see an incredible panorama of the jungle and the rivers combining with urban progress. Also very close are the famous ´´collpas de macaws´´ of the Tambopata river, the beautiful Lake Sandoval, the island of monkeys, the Native Community ´´Infierno´´, the scenic beauty from the Capitanía Port, and of course the people cheerful and friendly from Puerto Maldonado. Starting in 2010, there will be a paved road from Cusco to the border with Brazil, this road called ´´Carretera Interoceanica´´ will give access to various attractions along its route, where Puerto Maldonado will be an essential point on the agenda. tour.

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