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Explore 29 protected areas in Uruguay, rated across 10 categories

Anchorena is a historic park featuring the presidential summer residence and extensive gardens. The park contains a mix of native and exotic tree species, along with various wildlife. It offers stunni

Anchorena

Arequita National Park was incorporated into the SNAP in November 2024, protecting a volcanic geological formation roughly 130 million years old. The park encompasses Cerro Arequita, Cerro de los Cuer

Arequita

Cabo Polonio is a remote coastal park known for its massive sand dunes and sea lion colonies. The area has no roads and is accessible only by authorized vehicles across the dunes. The park features a 

Cabo Polonio

Cerro Verde e Islas de la Coronilla is a coastal and marine protected area in Rocha department, adjacent to Parque Santa Teresa on the Atlantic coast. The area protects nearly 1,700 hectares of terres

Cerro Verde e Islas de la Coronilla

Esteros de Farrapos is a wetland ecosystem along the Uruguay River. The park protects numerous islands and marshlands that are home to diverse bird species. It's an important site for migratory birds 

Esteros de Farrapos e Islas del Río Uruguay

Esteros y Algarrobales del Río Uruguay is a habitat and species management area protecting 1,550 hectares of wetlands and riparian algarrobo forests along the Uruguay River in Río Negro department. Th

Esteros y Algarrobales del Río Uruguay

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park is a recreational area featuring artificial lakes and eucalyptus forests. The park offers various outdoor activities including fishing and boating. It serves as a popula

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Grutas del Palacio is a natural monument in the Flores department protecting a unique cave system formed by ironstone concretions approximately 70 million years old. Listed as a UNESCO Global Geopark 

Grutas del Palacio

Humedales del Santa Lucía is Uruguay's largest protected area, covering 86,517 hectares across the departments of Canelones, Montevideo, and San José. It protects the floodplain and wetland complex of

Humedales del Santa Lucía

Humedales e Islas del Hum is a national park at the mouth of the Negro and San Salvador rivers in the Uruguay River. Its 2,227 hectares encompass over 20 islands including Pimienta, Paraguay, and Pepe

Humedales e Islas del Hum

Isla de Flores National Park is an uninhabited island in the Río de la Plata, approximately 21 km east of Montevideo. Covering 5,749 hectares, it was incorporated into the SNAP in 2018 as Uruguay's ne

Isla de Flores

Isla e Islote de Lobos y su entorno sumergido is a marine national park located 8 km southeast of Punta del Este. The 40 km² protected area centers on two islands that host the largest colony of South

Isla e Islote de Lobos

Islas del Queguay is a habitat and species management area comprising nine islands at the mouth of the Río Queguay Grande on the Río Uruguay. The 8,327-hectare area includes Queguay Grande, San Miguel

Islas del Queguay

Laguna de Castillos is a protected coastal lagoon and surrounding landscape in Rocha department, 15 km south of the town of Castillos. The approximately 8,000-hectare area encompasses one of Uruguay's

Laguna de Castillos

Laguna de Rocha is a protected coastal landscape in the Rocha department encompassing approximately 22,000 hectares of lagoon, coastal dunes, wetlands, and oceanic shoreline. It is one of Uruguay's mo

Laguna de Rocha

Laguna Garzón is a coastal lagoon protected area straddling the border between Rocha and Maldonado departments on the Atlantic coast. Covering nearly 9,600 hectares of land and 27,000 hectares of mari

Laguna Garzón

Laguna Negra, also known as Laguna de los Difuntos, is Uruguay's largest coastal lagoon, covering 17,500 hectares in the Rocha department. Its black-tinted waters are caused by fine peat particles tha

Laguna Negra

Laureles-Cañas is a protected landscape in Rivera department covering 25,262 hectares of basalt hills, deep valleys, and native forests in the Cuchilla de Haedo range. The area encompasses the headwat

Laureles-Cañas

Lecocq Park is a municipal zoo and recreational area near Montevideo. The park features native and exotic animal species in naturalistic enclosures. It includes educational facilities and walking trai

Lecocq

Localidad Rupestre de Chamangá is Uruguay's only protected landscape of cultural content, covering 120 km² in the Flores department. The area contains the largest concentration of pre-Columbian rock a

Localidad Rupestre de Chamangá

Montes del Queguay is a managed resources protected area in Paysandú department at the confluence of the Queguay Grande and Queguay Chico rivers. Its approximately 20,000 hectares contain one of Urugu

Montes del Queguay

Paso Centurión y Sierra de Ríos is a protected landscape in northeastern Cerro Largo department, bordering Brazil. The 25,836-hectare area protects the Eastern Sierras system of mountain ranges, ravin

Paso Centurión y Sierra de Ríos

Quebrada de los Cuervos y Sierras del Yerbal is a protected landscape in the Treinta y Tres department, encompassing 19,395 hectares of canyon systems, subtropical gallery forests, basalt outcrops, an

Quebrada de los Cuervos y Sierras del Yerbal

Rincón de Franquía is a habitat and species management area at the confluence of the Uruguay and Cuareim rivers in the Artigas department. The 1,229-hectare reserve near Bella Unión protects riparian 

Rincón de Franquía

San Miguel National Park in Rocha department protects an 18th-century Portuguese fortress built in 1737, along with surrounding wetlands, palm groves, and native grasslands. The park is an important h

San Miguel

Santa Teresa National Park is centered around the historic Santa Teresa Fortress, built in the 18th century. The park features extensive beaches, pine forests, and one of South America's most importan

Santa Teresa

Santos Protected Area is known for its distinctive rock formations and native grassland ecosystems. The area preserves important archaeological sites and indigenous rock art. The park serves as a vita

Santos

Tacuarembo Protected Landscape features rolling hills, native forests, and distinctive rock formations. The area is known for its gaucho cultural heritage and traditional ranching landscapes. The park

Tacuarembó

Valle del Lunarejo is a protected landscape in the Rivera department featuring dramatic valleys, waterfalls, and exceptional biodiversity. The area encompasses deep canyons carved through basaltic hil

National Parks in Uruguay

Top 10 Parks in Uruguay

Cabo Polonio

Cerro Verde e Islas de la Coronilla

Grutas del Palacio

Quebrada de los Cuervos y Sierras del Yerbal

Laureles-Cañas

Paso Centurión y Sierra de Ríos

Esteros de Farrapos e Islas del Río Uruguay

Laguna de Castillos

Arequita

Isla e Islote de Lobos

Top Parks by Category

Top 10 Parks for Uniqueness in Uruguay

Isla e Islote de Lobos

Cabo Polonio

Grutas del Palacio

Localidad Rupestre de Chamangá

Laguna de Castillos

Paso Centurión y Sierra de Ríos

Cerro Verde e Islas de la Coronilla

Laguna Negra

Laureles-Cañas

Esteros de Farrapos e Islas del Río Uruguay

All Parks (29)

Cabo Polonio

Quebrada de los Cuervos y Sierras del Yerbal

Grutas del Palacio

Cerro Verde e Islas de la Coronilla

Laureles-Cañas

Paso Centurión y Sierra de Ríos

Esteros de Farrapos e Islas del Río Uruguay

Laguna de Castillos

Isla e Islote de Lobos

All Parks A–Z

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