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Nature, the president established the boundaries of the reserve at 100 meters around the
cave in order to protect the oilbirds, fruit eating nocturnal birds that were confused with the
screech owl back then.
A decade later, another national reserve was created in an area that included the Cueva de
las Lechuzas and, in 1963, the Forest Act entered into force, under which national parks were
included as a protection category. Subsequently, in 1965, the TMNP was created by way of
Law No. 15574 enacted on May 14, 1965.
This law granted the classification of national park to two regions near the city of Tingo
Maria: the mountains forming the Bella Durmiente and the Cueva de las Lechuzas. At the
time of the classification, the park’s boundaries had not been set, only stating that the
forests adjacent to the two natural formations were included. In wasn’t until 2000 that the
park was finally demarcated and its area set at 4,777.80 hectares.
After its creation, the park was managed by the Comité de Conservación del Parque Nacional
Tingo María y Áreas Similares (CCOPANAS) [Tingo Maria National Park and Similar Areas
Conservation Committee], an institution formed by famous people from Tingo Maria and that
cared for the PNA from 1975 to 1990. Currently, Tingo Maria is part of the Sistema Nacional
de Áreas Naturales Protegidas por el Estado (SINANPE) [National System of Protected
Natural Areas] and is being managed by the SERNANP, which is assisted by Management
Committees made up of members of the local population who have organized themselves
into park rangers to safeguard this priceless jewel of nature.
La construcción del puente
Tres de Mayo en el año 1995
abrió las puertas del sector.
Hoy es una herramienta que nos
acerca a un desarrollo ordenado
así como al turismo de naturaleza.
Building the Tres de Mayo Bridge in
1995 connected this sector with the
rest of the world. It is now a means
of attaining proper land use and of
attracting nature tourism aficionados.
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Tingo María National Park, 50 years