Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Bus
A direct bus to/from Lima (S70 to S100) takes 18 to 20 hours in the dry season; the jour-
ney can be broken in Tingo María (S20, nine hours) or Huánuco (12 hours). The road is
paved but vulnerable to flooding and erosion. This journey has become safer since the
posting of armed police units along the parts of the route formerly prone to armed rob-
bery: still, it's better to do the Pucallpa-Tingo María section in daylight.
bus-cama,
bed bus) and 5:30pm. Another good company is
Turismo Central
(
59-1009; Raimondi 768)
, which has one morning departure and two afternoon departures.
Turismo Ucayali
( 57-2735; Centenario 150)
has cars to Tingo María (S45, 4½
hours) leaving hourly throughout the day.
Several companies on cuadra 7 of Raimondi have trucks and buses to more remote
Amazon towns like Puerto Bermúdez and Puerto Inca.
Getting Around
Mototaxis
to the airport or Yarinacocha are about S6; taxis are S10.
Yarinacocha
About 10km northwest of central Pucallpa, Yarinacocha is a lovely oxbow lake where you
can go canoeing, observe wildlife, and visit indigenous communities and purchase their
handicrafts. The lake, once part of the Río Ucayali, is now entirely landlocked, though a
small canal links the two bodies of water during the rainy season. Boat services are
provided here in a casual atmosphere. It's well worth spending a couple of days here.
The lakeside village of
Puerto Callao
is a welcome relief from the chaos of downtown
Pucallpa's streets. It's still a ramshackle kind of place with only a dirt road skirting the
busy waterfront. Buzzards amble among pedestrians, and
peki-peki
boats come and go to
their various destinations all day.
Here you'll find a limited choice of generally good accommodations, as well as some
decent food. You can also hire
boats
here − in fact, you'll be nabbed as soon as you turn
up by boat touts seeking to lure you to their vessel. Choose your boat carefully: make sure
it has new-looking life jackets and enough petrol for the voyage, and pay at the end of the
tour. Wildlife to watch out for includes freshwater pink dolphins, sloths and meter-long
