The Urubamba River is a river in Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

. A partially navigable headwater of the Amazon River

Amazon River

The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...

, it rises in the Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

 to the south-east of Cuzco

Cusco

Cusco , often spelled Cuzco , is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cuzco Province. In 2007, the city had a population of 358,935 which was triple the figure of 20 years ago...

 near the Puno Region

Puno Region

Puno is a region in southeastern Peru. It is bordered by Bolivia on the east, the Madre de Dios Region on the north, the Cusco and Arequipa regions on the west, the Moquegua Region on the southwest, and the Tacna Region on the south...

 border, where it is called the Vilcanota River (Rio Vilcanota). In the Sacred Valley

Sacred Valley

The Sacred Valley of the Incas or Urubamba Valley is a valley in the Andes of Peru, close to the Inca capital of Cusco and below the ancient sacred city of Machu Picchu...

, between Písac

Písac

]Písac is a Peruvian village in the Sacred Valley on the Urubamba River. The village is well-known for its market every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, an event which attracts heavy tourist traffic from nearby Cusco....

 and Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo is a town and an Inca archaeological site in southern Peru some 60 kilometers northwest of the city of Cusco. It is located at an altitude of 2,792 meters above sea level in the district of Ollantaytambo, province of Urubamba, Cusco region...

, it is also called the Wilcamayu (sacred river). It flows north-north-west for 724 kilometers before coalescing with the lower Apurímac River

Apurímac River

The Apurímac River rises from glacial meltwater of the ridge of Nevado Mismi, a mountain in the Arequipa Province in southern Peru.The Apurímac is the source of the world's largest river system, the Amazon River...

 to form the Ucayali River.

The Urubamba is divided into Upper Urubamba and Lower Urubamba, the dividing feature being the Pongo de Mainique

Pongo de Mainique

The Pongo de Mainique is a pongo in Peru, being wide and long, with to high cliffs. It is considered the most dangerous whitewater pass on the Urubamba River, which it divides between Upper and Lower Urubamba. It is a global biodiversity hotspot...

, an infamous whitewater

Whitewater

Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...

 canyon

Canyon

A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...

.

John Walter Gregory

John Walter Gregory

John Walter Gregory, FRS, was a British geologist and explorer, known principally for his work on glacial geology and on the geography and geology of Australia and East Africa.-Early life:...

, the British geologist, drowned in the river on June 2, 1932 while on a geological expedition to the Andes.

Upper Urubamba

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

Inca Empire

The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century...

 lie in the valley, including the Incan city of Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian 15th-century Inca site located above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is northwest of Cusco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for...

.

Lower Urubamba

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

Machiguenga

The Machiguenga are an indigenous people of the Amazon Basin jungle regions of southeastern Peru, east of Machu Picchu and close to the borders of Bolivia and Brazil. The people are short, but stoutly built, with broad facial features, and very rarely overweight...

 (Matsigenka) and Ashaninka

Asháninka

The Asháninka or Asháninca are an indigenous people living in the rainforests of Peru and in the State of Acre Brazil....

. The economy is based on forestry and the nearby Camisea Gas Project

Camisea Gas Project

The Camisea Gas Project extracts and transports natural gas originating near the Urubamba River in central Peru, the San Martín Reservoir.-History:...

. The main settlement in the region is the town of Sepahua

Sepahua District

Sepahua is a district in southern Atalaya Province in Peru. It is bordered by the Junín Region on the west, the district of Raymondi on the north, the Echarate District on the east, and national land on the south.-External links:...

.