The National Park Noel Kempf Mercado has been declared Natural Patrimony of the Humanity by the UNESCO in 2000. It is part of Santa Cruz, (Velasco province) and of Beni. The municipalities involved are San Ignacio of Velasco in Santa Cruz and Baures in Beni. The park borders to the east with Brazil.
The surface covered is 1.523.446 hetaeras (15,234 km2). The park has a huge diversity of ecosystems, some of them are important for ther unique characteristics in Bolivia and for their conservation state. The park presents an exceptional scenic beauty thanks to large farallones and water falls of the Caparu plateau. The climate is tropical and hot.
The National Park Noel Kempf Mercado has 2,700 species of larger plants registered, but it is estimated that there are close to 4,000 species of larger plants. The flora of the Area counts with mara, roble, cedro, goma, different types of palms such us asai, motacusillo, pachiuva and the king palm. There are 1,098 registered species of fauna from which some are in danger of extinction. Of these we can mention the swamp deer, gama, jaguar, tigrecillo, mono titi, paraba siete colores, tataruga and the cayman. The bird life is very rich and particular; there are more than 600 species. Some reports mention the presence of melanic jaguars (black jaguar or panther). The National Park is characterized by its lack of population. Most of the existent population is settled to the the West of the Paragua river.
