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All Peru Puerto Maldonado Puerto Maldonado Obelisco

Puerto Maldonado Obelisco

This space-age looking obelisk rises over a city in the rainforest, meant to resemble the local castaña tree.

Puerto Maldonado, Peru

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El Mirador De La Biodiversidad - Obelisco   Image capture Mar 2014
Puerto Maldonado Obelisco   BaronVonNekruch
Sculpture of local industry   BaronVonNekruch
Sculpture of local industry   https://www.google.com/maps/@-12.5938766,-...
Sculpture of local industry   Image capture Mar 2014
Relief of the castaña tree, source of timber and Brazil nuts   Image capture Mar 2014
View from the top, straight down   Gordon Ulmer
View from the top, to the rain forest beyond Puerto Maldonado   Gordon Ulmer
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About

Puerto Maldonado is a small city along the banks of the Tambopata and Madre De Dios, rivers that eventually make their way to the Amazon after tripping through the Beni, the Mamore and the Madeira. Here in southeast Peru the rainforest is thick and remote, and there are a few surprises in this provincial capital, including a 13-story obelisk called El Mirador De La Biodiversidad, the Biodiversity Tower.

The mirador, or lookout tower, does have the eco-friendly official name, but everyone knows it as the Obelisco. For a few soles (a dollar or two), after checking out the sculptures and small museum, a climb to the top will reward you with the best view of the city, the confluence of the rivers, the sweep of the surrounding jungle, and an almost guaranteed moody sunset.

The Obelisco was the vision of Santos Kaway Komori, a former mayor who had the strangely futuristic spire built to represent the abundant castaña, a tree that produces both rock-hard lumber and valuable Peruvian Brazil nuts. He also wanted to highlight the major industries of the region: mining, rubber cultivation, logging, and nut harvesting. The tower opened in 2003, complete with both 3D and bas relief impressions by local artists of these four industries, and their connections to the indigenous culture. 

The tower might look more like a place for air traffic controllers than it does a castaña tree, but there’s no denying it’s had a positive impact on local tourism, giving visitors a rare rainforest panorama. 

Related Tags

Monuments Towers Industrial Sculptures

Know Before You Go

The Obelisco is in Puerto Maldonado, in southeast Peru. It's at the intersection of Madre De Dios and Av Fitzcarrald, about half a mile (985 m) from where the two rivers meet. There is a small fee (a few soles, or around one US dollar) to go inside and up to the top.

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Published

January 13, 2017

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Sources
  • http://tyglobalist.org/onlinecontent/reporting-trips/peru-2016/obelisco-puerto-maldonados-tallest-building/
  • http://wikitravel.org/en/Puerto_Maldonado
  • http://www.enperu.org/obelisco-donde-comer-downloads-obelisco-mirador-paquetes-de-viaje-puerto.html
  • https://www.iperu.org/obelisco-de-la-biodiversidad
Puerto Maldonado Obelisco
Madre de Dios and Av Fitzcarrald
Puerto Maldonado
Peru
-12.593915, -69.189134
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Nearby Places

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Explore the Destination Guide

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