| Official Name: | Tumbes |
| Flag Size: | 150px |
| Seal Size: | 100px |
| Pushpin Map: | Peru |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Tumbes |
| Subdivision Type2: | Province |
| Subdivision Name2: | Tumbes |
| Subdivision Type3: | District |
| Subdivision Name3: | Tumbes |
| Subdivision Type4: | Demonym |
| Subdivision Name4: | Tumbesino(a) |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Jimmy Silva |
| Area Total Km2: | 1800.15 |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2015 |
| Pop Est Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Est: | 111595 |
| Population As Of: | 2017 |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Population Total: | 96946 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Coordinates: | -3.5708°N -80.4597°W |
| Elevation M: | 6 |
Tumbes is a city in northwestern Peru, on the banks of the Tumbes River. It is the capital of the Tumbes Region, as well as of Tumbes Province and Tumbes District. Located near the border with Ecuador, Tumbes has 111,595 inhabitants as of 2015. It is served by the Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodriguez Airport. It is located on the Gulf of Guayaquil along with Zorritos.
Tumbes has its origins back in pre-Inca times when it was inhabited by a cultural group of natives called Tumpis. At its peak, its population is estimated to have reached 178,000. After 1400, Inca Pachacuti ruled over Tumbes and the territory became an important political stronghold during the Inca Empire. Later Inca emperor Huayna Capac expanded Tumbes by ordering the construction of roads, houses and palaces.
Tumbes was first visited by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro during the start of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in 1528.[2] Molina noted that Tumbes was a well organized town. Pizarro made a second expedition in 1532 during which he encountered resistance from the curaca (chieftain) Chilimaza in what became known as the Battle of the Manglares. Pizarro was eventually successful and is said to have planted a cross in the invaded territory as a sign of Hispanic victory. Felipillo and Yacané, the first South American Indigenous interpreters who later aided Pizarro and his followers during the conquest of Peru, were born in Tumbes.
During its colonial period, Tumbes was sparsely populated and formed a part of the Audiencia of Quito through an unmodified Cedula of 1563 and Cedula of 1740. When Tumbes declared its independence from Spain, it opted to join Peru believing in the right of free determination of peoples. First, the Republic of the Gran Colombia challenged that right and then Ecuador claiming de jure rights through unmodified colonial Royal Decrees (Real Cédulas), but to no avail. The Protocol of Rio de Janeiro signed in 1942 with Ecuador legally confirmed Peru's previously de facto rights over Tumbes after a victorious war. However, lasting peace between both countries was not achieved until 1998, after a final conflict in 1995. Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori and Ecuadorian Presidente Jamil Mahuad signed a final document in which Ecuador accepted Perú's right over Tumbes and other territories claimed by Ecuador until then.
Tumbes climate, although it receives an average annual rainfall of 307.5 millimetres or 12.1 inches, due to its high potential evapotranspiration classifies as Desert climate (BWh), just bordering Hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh).https://www.koppen-map.com/ Rainfall is very variable due to the El Niño Southern Oscillation, with strong El Niños frequently seeing more than twice the mean rain.