[2] Tambopata National Reserve protects an area of rainforest,[2] which belongs to the moist and wet subtropical forest according to the Holdridge life zone classification.

[3] Among the species found in this protected area are: Virola surinamensis, Cedrela odorata, Oncidium spp., Bertholletia excelsa, Geonoma deversa, Epidendrum coronatum, Iriartea deltoidea, Celtis schippii, Spondias mombin, Mauritia flexuosa, Cedrelinga cateniformis, Hymenaea courbaril, Ficus trigonata, Croton draconoides, Inga spp., Attalea tessmannii, Calycophyllum spruceanum, Swietenia macrophylla, Couroupita guianensis, Socratea exorrhiza, Hura crepitans, Manilkara bidentata, Hevea guianensis, Guadua weberbaueri, Ceiba pentandra, etc.

[3][4] Among the mammal species found in the reserve are the jaguar, the puma, the ocelot, the collared peccary, the giant otter, the Peruvian spider monkey, the Hoffmann's two-toed sloth, the capybara, the tufted capuchin, the white-lipped peccary, the marsh deer, the red brocket, the brown-throated sloth, the black-capped squirrel monkey, and the South American tapir, among others.

[2] Some of the species of fish present in the reserve are: Prochilodus nigricans, Potamorhina latior, Brachyplatystoma flavicans, Piaractus brachypomus, Brycon spp., Schizodon fasciatus, etc.

[2][5] In 2013, Georgia Tech researcher Troy Alexander discovered four bizarre gazebo-shaped spider nests while visiting the Reserve.

The nests, which have since come to be known as Silkhenge structures, were each composed of an undocumented silk compound and consisted of a circular fence-like formation encompassing a spire at its center.

[2] Lake Sandoval, 30 minutes from Puerto Maldonado, is the most visited place in the reserve, its shores covered with palm trees (maurithia) which are home to Red Bellied Macaws, blue and yellow macaws, can be toured by boat to look for the giant river otters, black caimans and monkeys and sloths by the shores.