From a cultural diversity perspective, the population settled in the buffer zone of the national park can be divided into three main human groups: the indigenous Yanesha people, European-origin settlers (especially Germanic), and Andean immigrants from the central highlands of the country.

The objective of the park is to preserve the upper parts of the basins of the tributaries of the Palcazu, Huancabamba and Pozuzo rivers, and the natural areas used ancestrally by the Yanesha or Amuesha native communities settled in the region.

The area occupied by PNYCH is considered a "Pleistocene refuge," (similar to a Glacial refugium[3]), meaning it harbors relict forests as a result of geographic isolation.

[2][4] Plant species found in the area include: Retrophyllum rospigliosii, Oenocarpus bataua, Podocarpus oleifolius, Euterpe precatoria, Cedrela odorata, Juglans neotropica, Clarisia racemosa, Phytelephas macrocarpa, Weinmannia spp., Calycophyllum spruceanum, Gynerium sagittatum, etc.

[4] Mammals found in the park include: the capybara, the jaguar, the puma, the white tailed deer, the spectacled bear, the jaguarundi, the ocelot, the lowland paca, the Northern pudu, the common woolly monkey, etc.