[2] It spans an area of 751 km2 (290 sq mi) and along with Cerros de Amotape National Park and El Angolo Game Preserve is part of the Noroeste Biosphere Reserve designated by UNESCO.

The aims of the creation of the reserved zone were to protect a representative area of the Pacific tropical forest, and its threatened flora and fauna.

[2][3] The climate in the reserve is subtropical influenced some years by the El Niño phenomenon and the average annual precipitation is 1350 mm.

[3] Among the tree species found in this protected area are: hualtaco (Loxopterygium huasango), ceibo (Ceiba trischistandra), algarrobo (Prosopis spp.

[2][3] Among the mammals protected in the reserve are: the mantled howler monkey, the jaguar, the margay, the neotropical otter, the Guayaquil squirrel, the tayra and the white-tailed deer.