Ñacunday National Park is a national park, located in the district of
Ñacunday
Ñacunday is a town in the Alto Paraná department of Paraguay. It is known as the location of the Ñacunday National Park
Ñacunday National Park is a national park, located in the district of Ñacunday, Alto Paraná, in Paraguay, situated betw ...
,
Alto Paraná
Alto Paraná (; ''Upper Paraná'') is a Department (subnational entity), department in Paraguay. The capital is Ciudad del Este (formerly known as Puerto Presidente Stroessner, originally Puerto Flor de Lis).
The Alto Paraná department has exper ...
, in
Paraguay
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
, situated between the latitude 26°03’ and longitude 54°42’. It covers an area of 20 square kilometres. In the park is located large waterfall - the 35 – 40 m tall and 110 m wide Salto Ñacunday.
Climate
The climate is sub-tropical, with abundant and well-distributed precipitations, with an average of 1,500 to 1,700 mm annually. The average temperature is 21.5 °C, with predominant winds from the north, which corresponds to the geographic location of the
Amazon rainforest
The Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin ...
.
Flora
The predominant vegetation of the park is the Alto Paraná Atlantic forest, formed primarily by trees that usually reach 15 to 20 meters of high, with abundant specimens of the family
Meliaceae
Meliaceae, the mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs (and a few herbaceous plants, mangroves) in the order Sapindales.
They are characterised by alternate, usually pinnate leaves without stipules, and by syncarp ...
, such as: the Argentine cedar (''
Cedrela fissilis
''Cedrela fissilis'' is a species of tree in the family Meliaceae. It is native to Central and South America, where it is distributed from Costa Rica to Argentina.Trichilla catigua''); family
Arecaceae
The Arecaceae () is a family (biology), family of perennial plant, perennial, flowering plants in the Monocotyledon, monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbing palm, climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly k ...
: palmito (''
Euterpe edulis
''Euterpe edulis'', commonly known as juçara, jussara (an archaic alternative spelling), açaí-do-sul or palmiteiro, is a palm species in the genus ''Euterpe''. It is now predominantly used for hearts of palm. It is closely related to the aça ...
''); and family
Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae (), the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All ...
: ñangapiry (''
Eugenia
''Eugenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It has a worldwide, although highly uneven, distribution in tropical and subtropical regions. The bulk of the approximately 1,100 species occur in the New World tropics, ...
enflora''), yvaporaity (''
Myrciaria
''Myrciaria'' is a genus of large shrubs and small trees described as a genus in 1856. It is native to
Central and South America, Mexico, and the West Indies, with many of the species endemic to Brazil. Common names include hivapuru, sabará, ...
rivularis''). Secondly by a forest of tall trees of wide leaves. This kind of forest is easily recognized because of its general appearance, with trees that can reach 35 meters of high, with predominance of the family
Fabaceae
Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...
, such as: the yvyrá pytâ (''
Peltophorum
''Peltophorum'' is a genus of 5–15 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae. The genus is native to certain tropical regions across the world, including northern South America, central and southern Africa, ...
Boraginaceae
Boraginaceae, the Borago, borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees, and herbs in 146 to 154 genus, genera with a worldwide distribution.
The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single famil ...
: petereby (''
Cordia dichotoma
''Cordia dichotoma'' is a species of flowering tree in the borage family, Boraginaceae, that is native to the Indomalayan realm, northern Australia, and western Melanesia.
Common names in English include fragrant manjack, clammy cherry, glue be ...
''); and the family
Moraceae
Moraceae is a family of flowering plants comprising about 48 genera and over 1100 species, and is commonly known as the mulberry or fig family. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however, their ...
: tatajyva ('' Cholorophora tinctoria'') and amba’y ('' Cecropia pachystachya''). Aside from these forests, the park also has a riparian forest, with smaller specimens, mostly of the family
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae (), the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of Euphorbia, the type genus of the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', ar ...
. It also has, a diversity of ferns and orchids.
Fauna
All different species of animals, such as mammals,
birds
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
,
rodents
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...
and
reptiles
Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...
live in the area of the park. The park also protects a stretch of the Ñacunday River, which, because of its length and volume, is habitat for a rich variety of
fishes
A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fins and a hard skull, but lacking limbs with digits. Fish can be grouped into the more basal jawless fish and the more common jawed ...
, especially in the area of its outlet to the
Paraná River
The Paraná River ( ; ; ) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. ...
.
Hydrography
The park protects the sources of water, streams, a stretch of the Ñacunday River, which forms Salto Ñacunday - approximately 35 – 40 meters high waterfall some 900 m from the mouth of Ñacunday River. River provides water to the Mbyá Guaraní villages of the area for their daily activities, sometimes the river is used for recreation.
Tourism
This park is distinctive because its unique beautiful landscape provided by the Salto Ñacunday, which is the most important waterfall in the country, after the now disappeared Salto del Guairá. The waterfall is approximately 40 – 35 meters high and 110 meters wide, and is located 9000 meters before the outlet to the Paraná River. Right under the waterfall there is an island that was formed with time, by the logs of wood that fell down the precipice. In spite of not having a tourist program, the number of visitants, Paraguayan and foreign, is increasing, especially in the summer.
Legal aspect
The Ñacunday National Park, located on 26°03’ latitude South and 54°42’ longitude West, with an area of 20 km2. It was created in the category of Ñacunday Protector Forest, by decree N° 17.071 on August 20, 1975 with an extension of 10 km2, including the Salto Ñacunday and was later expanded by decree N° 16.146 on January 18, 1993, including some modifications. These modifications refer to the creation of the Ñacunday National Park with 20 km2, instead of the Ñacunday Protector Forest and the Yacuy Protector Forest.
Mbya Guaraní
The Mbya Guaraní (who live in the park) natives are the ones who mostly use it and the nearby area. They collect firewood, honey, fruits and medicinal plants; also is the natural environment where they practice their traditional ceremonies. The locals use it to do fishing and hunting of not endangered animals. The nearby area is used for agriculture and in less proportion for cattle.
Access
From
Asunción
Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...
, the highway to take is the: Route 2. The access to the park is through a route that goes from
Ciudad del Este
Ciudad del Este (, Spanish for Eastern City; often shortened as CDE) is the second-largest city in Paraguay and capital of the Alto Paraná Department, situated on the Paraná River. It is located 327 km east of Asunción, the capital, and i ...
to Los Cedrales, a paved road to the Municipality that becomes after, a dirt road. It is 90 km away from Ciudad del Este. Another access is through route N° 6, which connects Ciudad del Este with Encarnación.