The word Pongo means gorge, or ravine, where the river bursts through the mountains. To the Machiguenga Indians the Pongo de Mainique is known as the Place of the Bears. Their legend envisions a river demon in the form of a bear that lurks in the rapid, swirling waters of the Urubamba River.

In November 1998, a confederacy of intrepid adventures set out from Cusco traveling through the Sacred Valley of the Incas and across the glaciers of the Vilcabamba Mountain Range to meet their Destiny: A Journey down the mighty Urubamba River into one of the most exciting Adventure Regions of Peru. This first Adventure Expedition to the Pongo was organized by The Center for the Development of Indigenous Amazon Peoples (CEDIA), The Selva Sur Conservation Organization, and Expedition Photography in collaboration with the Machiguenga Indians of Timpia.

The Pongo Adventurers at Journey's end, Pucallpa.

Hangin' on the Wall: Ben Morgenthau.
Ben caught a plane before this picture, but he was with us in Spirit!

Map of South East Peru.

What you will find inside:
Peru, travel, peru wildlife safari, Amazon, birds, birding, peru travel lodges, Peru Amazon adventure, rainforest conservation, eco-tourism, cloud forest, Cusco, Inca, Urubamba Valley, South America, peru tropical forest, macaws, macaw clay lick, Sabeti clay lick, monkey, parrot, biotrip, bird list, Machiguenga Indians, Pongo de Mainique, Timpia, river rapids, waterfalls, Pucallpa, Sepahua, Tintinienkato, sacred valley, Ollantaytambo, Kiteni, Quillabamba
....and Adventure!