Pumahuanca, Mountain peak in Urubamba Range, Peru

Pumahuanca is a 5,318-metre mountain in the Urubamba range, on the boundary between Calca and Urubamba provinces northwest of the town of Urubamba. Its broad central face is bare grey and pale tan rock rising to several jagged summits, with a white glacier draping down a dark slope on the upper left and smaller snow patches on the right-hand summit. Below the rock, brown and tan scree ridges descend to grassy slopes with sparse shrubs and scattered grey boulders. It lies northwest of Chicón and west of Capacsaya.

Pumahuanca appears in the sources only as a named peak of the Urubamba range on the Calca–Urubamba provincial boundary; no first ascent, climbing route or date of exploration is recorded for it. Its Quechua-derived name, also given as Yucay, is the documented historical trace, linking the mountain to the puma and wank'a (rock) vocabulary of the region.

The mountain name comes from Quechua, joining words for cougar and rock, showing how indigenous peoples connected their world to animals and landscape features. This naming reflects the long relationship between Andean communities and their mountains.

Climbers typically start from Cusco, travel to Yanahuara, then hike through the valley for about three hours to reach base camp. Proper acclimatization is essential before attempting the summit due to the high altitude throughout the route.

Pumahuanca also appears on maps and in local use as Yucay, and its Quechua name is commonly written Pumahuanja; both refer to the same 5,318 m summit on the Calca–Urubamba provincial boundary. The peak stands northwest of Chicón and west of Capacsaya, a position that helps identify it from the Urubamba valley.