Lima to Pucallpa

From the Pacific to the Amazon. This drive takes you from Lima across the Andes to Pucallpa on the Ucayali river: about 710 km, from sea level up to more than 4,500 m and down to 150 m in the rainforest. Allow 14 hours or more by car.

The route. Lima – Huaral – Churín – Oyón – the high puna – Yanahuanca – Huánuco – Carpish – Tingo María – Boquerón del Padre Abad – Aguaytía – Pucallpa. From Huánuco on it follows the Federico Basadre highway, the road that opened the Peruvian Amazon to the coast.

Good to know. The high section is cold and thin-aired: take it slowly if you are not used to altitude. In the rainy season (December to March) landslides (huaicos) can block the road, especially around Carpish and the Boquerón. Fuel up in the bigger towns.

Music of the route. The soundtrack is Andean: two real huayno recordings made in Lima in 1913 (“Serranita”, a quena duo by Escobedo y Núñez, and “La ñusta” by Velarde y Medina), followed by “El cóndor pasa” by Daniel Alomía Robles, who was born in Huánuco, on this road. All are in the public domain (Wikimedia Commons; “El cóndor pasa” in an instrumental version by Pracchia-78).

Picture: “La Bella Durmiente” near Tingo María, by Pitxiquin, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.