Location
North forest, 347 feet above sea level (106 masl)
Distances
627 miles (1,009km) from Lima, by air
615 miles (990 km) from Pucallpa, by river
Population
367,000 inhabitants (2000)
Weather
Tropical humid, maximum temperature 99.9°F (37.7°C), Temp. Minimum temperature
58.6°F (14.8 °C) Season of rains from November to March.
Iquitos is an ideal place for lovers of the ecological tourism, and
for the ones who want to feel an intimate contact with the virgin nature of the amazon
forests. From the city you will be able to go to lodges into the jungle, and for the most
adventurous and fearless you can arrive to parks and natural reservations, full and
plethoric with exuberant flora and fauna, with many undiscovered places, and many alive
species unknown by science.
Iquitos is the capital of the department of Loreto, located in the
middle of the Peruvian forest, less than 4° south of Ecuador, and next to the left river
bank of the Amazonas River.
Iquitos was a village inhabited by the wild tribe called the "Iquitos" from
whom the name was taken in the moment of its foundation in 1864. During the Spanish Colony
and the gold fever caused by the legends of "El Dorado" (The
Golden) and the "País de la Canela" (Country of the Cinnamon),
Iquitos never had historical figuration. In 1883 began in this city the era and peak of
the rubber, the exploitation of their latex and trade made that some reached immense
fortunes, it brought the prosperity of the city and the construction of splendid houses
began, some with tiles brought from Portugal.
In those days, Iquitos had better communications, with Europe, through the Amazonas
River, better than with the city of Lima. Part of the characteristic of this time was the
acquisition of a house built by G. Eiffel in Paris and today located in the Main Square of
Iquitos. The end of the era of the rubber arrived in 1912.
From then on, Iquitos has always been the main fluvial mean and principal amazon port
of Peru; its economic activity has been centered in the commercialization of its natural
resources and lately the exploitation of petroleum.
Near the city of Iquitos exists a zoological park of the amazon fauna, spas and resorts
in "cochas" (lagoons). Almost in the same city you will be able to visit
"Belen", the Peruvian Venice, or go for a walk by the pier and observe the
mightiest river in the world, the Amazonas River.
The population of Iquitos in its great majority are natural descendants of regional
wild tribes and of the miscegeneration. The people´s temper is very noble and cheerful,
lover of the amusement. Iquitos is also famed by the quantity of men that arrived to the
city and lost their bachelorhood, because of the affection that women in this region give
to the visitors. The population has many myths and legends, some occult; there is a great
diffusion of the folkloric medicine and the faith to be cured with those medicines based
on the great quantity of medicinal plants that exist.
In the city you will be able to find crafts of the wild tribes, as well as enjoy an
excellent cuisine and typical drinks and beverages.
The typical public transportation in the city is the "mototaxi" or
"motocar", it is a motorized tricycle used for passenger transportation with a
very economic rate. There are also taxies in conventional cars that generally don't have
airconditioning. In the city you can rent a motorcycle or an automobile.
Visiting Iquitos
Ecological Tourism: The amazon
forest is the natural reserve of more extensive and more variety life of the Earth.
Abundant botanical and zoological species, in lustful landscapes in those in which you can
go and be lodge for some time, or in the Parks and Natural Reservations. Or if you prefer
a cruise by the Amazonas River, or a simple ride in a boat.
The city: The city has as axis
of its social and economic life in the Main Square, and around it, famous houses of the
era of the rubber. The Main Square is very near the riverside called Tarapacá, its
commercial center in the Próspero Street, and the traditional neighborhood of Belén
with its floating houses on the river.
Municipal Museum: Located in the Távara Street block 2, small and
modest museum with handmade works of the natives, ethnographic and with regional fauna.
Surrounding areas of the city:
You will be able to visit the tourist complex of "Quistococha" for a first
encounter with the regional fauna and flora and Santo Tomás a picturesque neighborhood.
For all those that want to escape for a moment of the
concrete forests, infernal noises and pollution of the big cities, wanting to have a close
encounter with paradisiacal places in the virgin jungle of the Amazonas, without any other
noise than the one the birds, monkeys or insects make, Iquitos is a great opportunity and
an excellent selection.
Photo Gallery