Introducation of Pucallpa

Pucallpa (Quechua: “red earth”) is a busy Amazon frontier town in Peru which sits on the banks of the Ucayali River, a major tributary which feeds the Amazon River. Pucallpa is the capital of the Ucayali region and has more than 200,000 citizens. Pucallpa is 155 meters above sea level.Pucallpa was founded on October 13, 1888, though a small community had existed on the site since 1534.

Prior the completion of the 846km long Lima-Pucallpa highway (which in recent times the part closest to Pucallpa has disintegrated to a mudhole turning the original 2 day drive to a 2 and a half day drive to Lima) 1945, Pucallpa was a small, isolated town without electricity or paved roads. Today, however, the city has grown greatly in size and is a centre for local agriculture and industry, with numerous sawmills, rosewood oil factories and farms in its vicinity. Pucallpa is also the terminus for a 76km long oil pipeline from the Ganso Azul oilfields in the southwest.

The Alexander von Humboldt and Biabo-Cordillera Azul National Forests are located just to the west of Pucallpa. Pucallpa is not known for being a tourist attraction, because there is not as much to do there as there are in other places, however there are a few interesting places that are close. Just 7 kilometers away is Lake Yarinacocha, where the native community of San Francisco resides. Also close by is Aguatya, where there are waterfalls and a beautiful lake.