Pucallpa

Pucallpa (Quechua: puka hallpa, "red earth") is a city in eastern Peru located on the banks of the Ucayali River, a major tributary of the Amazon River. It is the capital of the Ucayali region, the Coronel Portillo Province and the Calleria District.

Pucallpa was founded in the 1840s by Franciscan missionaries who settled several families of the Shipibo-Conibo ethnic group. For several decades it remained a small settlement as it was isolated from the rest of the country by the Amazon Rainforest and the Andes mountain range. From the 1880s through the 1920s a railway project to connect Pucallpa with the rest of the country v

ia the Ferrocarril Central Andino was started and dropped several time until it was finally abandoned. Pucallpa's isolation finally ended in 1945 with the completion of a highway to Lima through Tingo Maria. The highway allowed the commercialization of regional products to the rest of the country, thus improving the economic outlook of the region and its capital, Pucallpa. However, the heavy rainfalls of the Amazon Rainforest remain a problem as they erode the highway and can even cut it by causing flash floods.

Pucallpa is the only one of the low jungle cities that is easily accessibly by road, which probably explains why it has become the fastest growing city in Peru. Many people have moved to the city from the highlands, taking advantage of what they perceive to be a highly fertile area, although this mass migration has generally resulted in many shantytowns growing up on the edge of Pucallpa. The city is incredibly noisy, with mototaxis zooming around. However, activity completely stops at lunchtime, and everybody takes a siesta. The city is probably the most commercial of all the jungle towns in Peru, and there is much logging activity, some illegal.

Pucallpa receives far fewer visitors than Iquitos or Puerto Maldonado, and there are far fewer jungle tours offered here than from either of the other cities. However, the area around Pucallpa offers a good opportunity to visit native Indian communities, which are generally far more authentic than those on show in Iquitos, and nearby Yarinacocha is one of the most beautiful lakes in the Peruvian jungle. It is also possible to see wildlife in the area, including river dolphins in Yarinacocha, as well as monkeys and sloths.