Pucallpa

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Pucallpa

Flag

Coat of arms

Location in Peru

Coordinates: 8°23′S, 74°31′W

Country

Region

Province

Founded

154 m (505.2 ft)

Population (2007)

- City

339,493

calculation

Time zone

PET (UTC-5)

- Summer (DST)

PET (UTC-5)

Website: www.mcp.gob.pe

Pucallpa (Quechua: puka hallpa, "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 in 1945 of the 846km long Lima-Pucallpa highway (which in recent times has, especially close to Pulcallpa, disintegrated to a mudhole considerably lengthening what was once a two day drive from Lima), 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, but there are a few interesting places close by. 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.