Ucayali is one of the twenty-four departments that, together with the Constitutional Province of Callao, form the Republic of Peru. Its capital and most populated city is Pucallpa. It is located in the south of the country, in the Amazon region, bordering the north with Loreto, east with Brazil, south with Madre de Dios and Cuzco, southwest with Junín and west with Pasco and Huanuco. With 102 199.28 km² it is the second most extensive department -behind Loreto- and with 4.2 hab / km² it is the third least densely populated, ahead of Loreto and Madre de Dios, the least densely populated. It was founded on June 18,1980. It is formed by the provinces of Coronel Portillo, Atalaya, Padre Abad and Purús.
Its capital, the city of Pucallpa, is located in the province of Coronel Portillo, which is located to the north of the department and next to the Ucayali River. This region has a population, according to the 2017 census conducted by INEI, of 506 881 inhabitants and is populated by various indigenous groups of the Pano group, shipibos and the Arawak group. This department receives its name from the main and largest river that crosses it from south to north: the Ucayali river.