Tingo María

Plaza de Armas in Tingo María. Image © Javier Martel

Tingo María, magnificently situated on the lush tropical foothills of the eastern Andes, is one of the entrances to the Amazon basin. Tingo means union, in this case the union of two rivers: the Rio Huallaga and the Rio Monzon. María is the name of a woman, who used to live there before the city was founded. Everyone in the region knew the woman who lived at the union, the Tingo, of the two rivers. When the city developed, the inhabitants decided to name it after this woman: Tingo María.

The Río Huallaga and La Bella Durmiente. Image © Javier Martel

Tingo María is called La Ciudad de la Bella Durmiente, which could be translated as The City of the Beautiful Sleeping Woman: Tingo María lies at the foot of a mountain which has the shape of a sleeping woman, lying on her back, with an Inca crown on her head. The mountain is situated in the National Park Tingo María.

Avenida Raimondi. Image © Govert-Jan Mennen

The city lies at an altitude of 650 metres, and has about 30,000 inhabitants. It is a typical Peruvian jungle town with streets that remind the visitor of small towns from wild-west movies. The tropical nature with the green hills around Tingo María is impressive and there are many botanical gardens and parks. There is also a agricultural university.

Sunset over Tingo María and La Bella Durmiente. Image © Javier Martel

The most renowned local attraction is the Cueva de las Lechuzas, a cave just outside the city in the National Park Tingo María. The cave is full of beautiful stalagmites and stalactites with many, many nearly extinct nightbirds, oilbirds and parrots. Another great place is the Cueva de las Pavas, a beautiful canyon just outside Tingo María overgrown with rainforest. You will never see more and bigger butterflies than here.

Until now Tingo María is relatively unknown to tourists, although there are a few hotels and restaurants, some of them excellent. The city is definetely worth a visit.