VILCABAMBA, CORDILLERA DE

small range of the Andes Mountains in south-central Peru, extending about 160 miles (260 km) northwestward from the city of Cuzco. The range, marked by the erosive action of rivers that have cut deep canyons, rises to 20,574 feet (6,271 m) at Mount Salccantay (Salcantay, or Sarkantay). The most atypical of the range's peaks is Pumasillo (Puma's Claw), at 19,915 feet (6,070 m), which is not an isolated peak but the culmination of a large massif. Pumasillo is not visible from surrounding villages, and, although its existence was known, it was not accurately mapped until 1956.