The department of Madre de Dios hosts within its vast territory some of the most astonishing natural areas in Peru, including Manu National Park (declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987), which covers an area of almost five million acres (almost two million hectares) and constitutes one of the most valuable living laboratories of wildlife on the planet, as well as the Tambopata National Reserve, less remote and more accessible than Manu, and with stunning jungle lodges located along the river. The macaw clay licks found in this ecosystem are famous for the enormous flocks of macaws and parrots that gather to feed on the red clay of the riverbank in the golden light of early morning, creating a spectacular display of color and sound on the edge of the Tambopata River.