The Urubamba River or Vilcamayo River (possibly from Quechua ''Willkamayu'', for "sacred river") is a river in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. Upstream it is called Vilcanota River (possibly from Aymara ''Willkanuta'', for "house of the sun"). Within the La Convención Province the naming changes to Urubamba. A partially navigable headwater of the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

, it rises in the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

to the southeast of Cuzco. It originates on the slopes of Khunurana in the Puno Region, Melgar Province, near the La Raya pass. It flows north-north-west for 724 kilometers before coalescing with the Tambo River to form the Ucayali River. The Urubamba is divided into Upper Urubamba and Lower Urubamba, the dividing feature being the Pongo de Mainique, an infamous

whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...

Upper Urubamba

The Upper Urubamba (''Alto Urubamba'') valley features a high population and extensive irrigation works. A number of ruins of the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...

lie in the

Sacred Valley The Sacred Valley of the Incas ( es, Valle Sagrado de los Incas; qu, Willka Qhichwa), or the Urubamba Valley, is a valley in the Andes of Peru, north of the Inca capital of Cusco. It is located in the present-day Peruvian region of Cusco. In c ...

, including the Incan city of

Machu Picchu Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain range.UNESCO World Heritage Centre. It is located in the Machupicchu District within Urubamba Province above the Sacred Valley, whic ...

Patallaqta Patallacta (possibly from Quechua ''pata'' elevated place / above, at the top / edge, bank (of a river), shore, ''llaqta'' place (village, town, city, country, nation), "settlement on a platform" pronounced "pahta-yakta"), Llactapata or Q'ente ...

Pikillaqta PikillaqtaDiccionario Quechua - Español - Quechua, Academía Mayor de la Lengua Quechua, Gobierno Regional Cusco, Cusco 2005: ''Pikillaqta'' (Quechua ''piki'' flea, ''llaqta'' a place (village, town, community, country, nation), "flea place", ...

and

Raqch'i Raqch'i (Quechua) is an Inca archaeological site in Peru located in the Cusco Region, Canchis Province, San Pedro District, near the populated place Raqch'i. It is 3480 meters above sea level and 110 kilometers from the city of Cuzco.Sillar (2 ...

. The

Salcca-Pucara hydroelectric project Salcca-Pucara hydroelectric project is a hydropower project in Peru. The project envisages transferring water from the Río Salcca into the Vilcanota River and an electrical power output of 130 megawatt. The net worth of the project planned is $30 ...

is associated with the river as well.

Lower Urubamba

The Lower Urubamba (''Bajo Urubamba'') is relatively undeveloped and features a significant indigenous population consisting of the Campa tribes, principally the

Machiguenga The Machiguenga (also Matsigenka, Matsigenga) are an indigenous people who live in the high jungle, or''montaña'', area on the eastern slopes of the Andes and in the Amazon Basin jungle regions of southeastern Peru. Their population in 2020 amou ...

(Matsigenka) and

Asháninka The Asháninka or Asháninca are an indigenous people living in the rainforests of Peru and in the State of Acre, Brazil. Their ancestral lands are in the forests of Junín, Pasco, Huánuco and part of Ucayali in Peru. Population The Ashán ...

. The economy is based on forestry and the nearby

Camisea Gas Project The Camisea Gas Project extracts and transports natural gas originating near the Urubamba River in Megantoni District, La Convención Province in the Cusco Region of Peru. The project, which cost nearly four billion dollars by 2015, developed in ...

. The main settlement in the region is the town of Sepahua. (Sepahua River coordinates are

1934 first mapping

The lower Urubamba River was mapped for the first time in 1934 by Edward Kellog Strong III. He and two friends from Palo Alto, California, Art Post and Gain Allan John, navigated the river with its ferocious rapids by canoe and balsa rafts provided by the indigenous people. The mapping was done at the request of the Peruvian military when they heard of the expedition planned by the three 18-year-olds. John Walter Gregory, a British geologist, drowned in the river on June 2, 1932 while on a geological expedition to the Andes. It was turned over to the military when the boys arrived in Iquitos. It was the only map of the river until it was mapped by satellite many years later. The names and places on the latest map came from the original map drawn by Edward Strong.

Tributaries

*Yukay *Pampacchuana *Aobamba *Ste. Teresa or Salcantay *Sacsara * Luq'umayu *Vilcabamba *Chawpimayu *Pampaconas *San Miguel *Comportayoc *Concevidayoc *Cosireni

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Peru Tributaries of the Ucayali River Rivers of Cusco Region Rivers of Puno Region Rivers of Ucayali Region

Upper Urubamba

Lower Urubamba

1934 first mapping

Tributaries

See also

References