Pongo de Mainique

The Pongo de Mainique is where the Urubamba cuts through the Vilcabamba range - the last Andean barrier - into the Amazon lowlands, in a gorge about three kilometres long with walls rising several hundred metres, waterfalls dropping directly into the river from both sides, and the whole flow of a major river compressed into a narrow channel. For the Machiguenga people whose territory it lies in, it is a place of profound significance, a passage between worlds in their cosmology. It is also genuinely dangerous: the current through the constriction is powerful, and standing waves and whirlpools form. Running it is done by local boatmen who know the water, at the right levels, and it is not something to arrange casually. The area sits beside the Camisea gas fields, whose development has been the subject of long-running dispute over impacts on Machiguenga communities.

Highlights

• The gorge - three kilometres of the Urubamba compressed between high walls.
• The waterfalls - dropping directly into the river from both sides.
• The Machiguenga significance - a passage between worlds in their cosmology.
• The geological line - the last Andean ridge before the Amazon basin.

When to go

May to October, when levels are lower and the passage is less violent. High water makes it far more dangerous and boatmen refuse to run it.

Good to know

Genuinely dangerous - powerful current and whirlpools. Only go with local boatmen who know the water and only at safe levels. It is Machiguenga territory and a sacred site; permission and respect are expected.

Nearby

Ivochote and Kiteni are the river ports; Quillabamba is the nearest town of size.

Key facts