Tingo María

Introducing Tingo María

Tingo María (Tingo for short) is as different as it can be from other cities and towns in the Andes. This languid, humid and warm university and market town lies in the ceja de la selva, and while it has its back to the mountains its feet are firmly planted in the lush vegetation of the Amazonas region. It is verdant, tropical, humid and – most importantly – warm, a real bonus if you have just come down from the bone-chilling heights of the upper Andes. Tingo is known locally by the moniker La Ciudad de la Bella Durmiente (the City of the Sleeping Beauty) in honor of a mountain in the Tingo María National Park that bears the shape of a sleeping woman wearing an Inca crown.

Tingo María is as much a popular way station as it is a destination in its own right. Limeños come here in droves to escape their garúa (coastal fog, mist or drizzle) and desert city status, while travelers pause here on their way to the Amazon. Many go to the great river itself – or more accurately, its feeder the Río Ucayali – and end up coming back to Tingo to linger longer and relax in its unhurried embrace.

This thriving town has had bad press in the past – and still does to some extent. To the north in the Huallaga valley coca is grown and is jealously guarded by narcotraficantes (drug traffickers) who, if steered clear of, leave all and sundry alone. To the east a lonely jungle road spears across the selva to the port of Pucallpa, but it is a road with its own possible dangers.

Surrounded by mountains, waterfalls and caves, Tingo begs for the traveler’s attention. Pause for just one day and you may end up here a week.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009