The Área de Conservación Regional Cordillera Escalera, established in 2005, is a 149,000-hectare cloud-forest reserve that climbs from the Mayo valley to over 2,000 metres altitude immediately east and northeast of Tarapoto. It is the catchment for most of the rivers and waterfalls in the area, including Ahuashiyacu, and it protects spectacled bears, woolly monkeys, and several endemic birds.
Several entry points have managed trails. The Mirador Castillo lookout at the top of the climb above Tarapoto reaches a sandstone outcrop with views over the Huallaga valley. The Cataratas de Pucayaquillo trail is a longer hike to a chain of waterfalls. Local guides from town can arrange day trips with transport included.