San Martin is a zone full de fertile valleys and rough terrain that is spread out between the Andean mesa and a small area de lower jungle. The first Spanish city in the jungle, named Santiago de los Ocho Valles de Moyobamba, was founded there in 1549. It served as a base for later colonization and departmental growth as well as the site where the first religious orders established themselves.

Abiseo River National Park (274,520 hectares) is part de the select UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List and it contains eight live zones and thirty-six registered archeological sites. There are 980 species de flora, in particular the bromeliads, orchids, and ferns, more than 220 species de birds, and nearly fifty species de mammals like the yellow-tailed woolly monkey, the Andean deer, the spectacled bear, and the jaguar, species nearing extinction. The park also has fascinating archeological remnants de the Chachapoyas like the Gran Pajaten, Los Pinchudos, and La Playa archeological site with the characteristically circularly shaped stone buildings decorated with geometric designs and diverse figures in relief.


Small lakes, hot springs with restorative properties, and lovely waterfalls dot the entire department. Other attractions are the Alto Mayo Protection Forest and the Azul Cordillera National Park, protected areas that guard veritable treasures de nature.