URUBAMBA RIVER

Spanish Ro Urubamba, river in the Amazon drainage system, rising in the Andes of southern Peru, near the border between Cuzco and Puno departamentos. It flows for about 450 miles (725 km) to its junction with the Apurmac, where it forms the Ucayali. The upper part of the Urubamba, there called the Vilcanota, flows past the towns of Sicuani, Urcos, and Urubamba and is densely settled by Indian farmers. Below Urubamba, in the Gorge of Torontoy, the river plunges from 11,000 to 8,000 feet (3,400 to 2,400 m) in 20 miles (32 km). The lower course, downstream from Quillabamba, is sparsely populated.