Pongo de Mainique, Canyon in Cuzco Department, Peru

Pongo de Mainique is a narrow gorge cut through the Vilcabamba mountains where the Urubamba River flows with great force and speed. Sheer rock walls rise on both sides of the river, creating one of the most dramatic passages along the entire waterway.

The name Pongo de Mainique comes from Quechua, meaning 'gate'. Legend holds that an Inca bridge once crossed the gorge, though the Pongo lay outside the Inca Empire and no bridge survives. In 1982 Werner Herzog filmed key scenes of Fitzcarraldo here, with Klaus Kinski in the lead.

The name comes from Quechua pongo, meaning 'gate', a reference to the narrow passage the river cuts through the Vilcabamba range. Local Machiguenga communities have long used the gorge and its surrounding forests, and the river remains a route for boats carrying people and goods between the Upper and Lower Urubamba.

Visiting requires experienced guides because the river currents here are particularly strong and unpredictable. Travelers should expect wet conditions, significant physical demands, and sudden weather changes that are difficult to forecast.

The Wildlife Conservation Society stated that lowland rainforests and mid-montane cloud forests within five miles (8 km) of the Pongo possibly form the single most biologically diverse site on Earth. In a 2006 Observer survey of 15 top travel writers, Michael Palin named it his favourite place in the world.