Iquitos travel guide

Iquitos, Peru

By the Travel Wiki editorial team

Iquitos

Introduction

Iquitos is the capital of Peru's Maynas Province and the Loreto Region, and the largest metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon east of the Andes. It is also the largest city in the world that cannot be reached by road without being on an island — you can only arrive by river or by air.

Before you go

Iquitos sits in the vast Department of Loreto, the capital of Peru's northern Amazon, and it is not reachable by road. Plan to arrive by air or by river, and expect motorcycles and mototaxis to dominate the streets once you are there — the traffic is chaotic but fluid, and a sub-industry of people will guard your motorcycle while you shop, sometimes placing cardboard on the seat to keep it cooler. The climate is tropical year round, and the river level swings dramatically with rainfall and snow melt on the east slopes of the Andes.

Before booking anything, contact iPeru, the Peruvian government's official tourist information service, with an office on Napo Street at the Plaza de Armas and a 24/7 phone line. Its services are free and unbiased, and the staff can help you plan your travel and provide records of tourism companies. Jungle tours are offered on every street, but for a reliable operator, use those recommended by the tourist office. The city's population is diverse, shaped by wealth from rubber and oil that made Iquitos the most important fluvial port in the Peruvian Amazon, and Iquiteños are usually friendly and like to party.

Getting there

Iquitos is widely considered the largest continental city unreachable by road, so planes and boats are the primary means of entrance and egress for people and supplies. Do not expect a city with all the trappings of the western world — it is very basic, with no road connection to the rest of the country, old vehicles, and meager roads dominated by motocars and three-wheeler motorbikes that can carry three at a pinch.

Getting around

There is no rail, metro, tram, or conventional bus network in Iquitos, so the motocar — also called the mototaxi, a motorcycle with a small, rickshaw-like passenger cabin in the back — is the backbone of local transport. You simply hail one on the street and pay the driver in cash; near the city center, two or three empty mototaxis may pass you in any given minute, with drivers making eye contact in the hope that you want a ride. Regular taxis exist, but the heat and the sheer availability of motocars make the motocar the sensible default — sometimes the ride is worth the cost just for the breeze. Short hops within the city cost about S/2.5, while longer trips, such as from the Plaza de Armas to Belén, run S/3 or more. Not all mototaxis are identical in ride quality: older ones tend to transfer the motorcycle's vibration to the passenger cabin, so on longer rides it is worth hailing a newer-looking one.

Where to stay

Air conditioning matters here. In the tropical heat it can make the difference between a good trip and a great one, so it is worth paying more for a room with A/C. Traffic in Iquitos is louder than average, so ask for a room away from the street.

Food & drink

Iquitos food is an exotic blend of Peruvian, Brazilian and Colombian cooking with influences from the Andes and the Pacific Coast. Try the juane and the tacacho. Because of the heat you will likely want something cold, and there are excellent heladerías such as Shambo, Giornata at Napa 151, and La Favorita at Plaza Sargento Lores. For a full meal, Huasaí Restaurant near the Plaza de Armas is known for its tropical fruit juices and is popular with local business people at lunch, while El Kikiriki, a block north of the plaza, is good for chicken and anticucho. Amazon Bistro on the Malecón Tarapaca is an old-style French brasserie with homemade bread, Argentinean steaks, Belgian beers, escargots and a Belgian chocolate dessert, plus live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Dawn on the Amazon, at the end of the boulevard on the corner of Nauta, is a place to eat and meet, with a river view and a crowd of expats trading suggestions each evening.

For drinks, Amazon Bistro and Dawn on the Amazon are both popular with travellers in the evening. Tropical fruit juices are a highlight: try cocona, or pineapple, which in the Amazon region is quite different from the rest of Peru and makes really good juice. Aguaje and ungurahui are also good choices, and you can try them all at the entrance of the Upper Belen central market. Native alcoholic drinks, some reputedly aphrodisiac, are best bought at Pasaje Paquito; among them are Para Para, made with honey, aguajina, a sweet beverage made with aguaje pulp, and masato, a traditional fermented drink made with yuca. Do not eat endangered species. Some locals do so as tradition, but pseudo-guides and restaurants may offer you caiman, majás, turtles, deer and other carne de monte; breeding farms for these species do not exist, so the animals come from natural environments.

What to see and do

Iquitos is your launch point for the Amazon, and jungle trips are the main reason to come. You can book single-day or multi-day excursions that take you out by boat to see wildlife such as monkeys, alligators, giant lily-pads, baby caimans, anacondas, boas and tarantulas. Be aware that taxi drivers and hotel concierges earn a kickback for referring you to a tour guide, so arrange your trip with that in mind.

In town, start at the Plaza de Armas, a mix of mostly modern and rubber boom styles, with street performers, a fountain, statues and a Catholic church; it is busy on a Saturday evening. The riverfront is one block away, though in the low water season the river retreats and is not terribly visible; the walk is also where local high schoolers go to canoodle. Below the walk you will find the Anaconda Center crafts market. The rubber boom left its traces in the city's architecture: mosaic tiles in Italian-style palaces, the riverside walkway, and the Iron House, a residence built from metal sheets and carried by hundreds of men through the jungle. The modest local homes, not without a certain kitsch charm, exist alongside French mansions now largely used as public offices. The Morey and Cohen houses still stand on Prospero street, the main street, and are worth photographing. Among the specific sights are the Iquitos Cathedral, completed in neo-Gothic style, La Plaza 28 de Julio, the biggest square in Peru with very good Chifa restaurants around it, the Casa de Fierro, which houses crafts shops and a restaurant, and the Ex Hotel Palace, a beautiful Art Nouveau building overlooking the Itaya River.

Out of town, tour agencies can organize visits to native villages. Several so-called serpentarios operate in and around Iquitos, most notably two called 'Las Boas'; despite claiming to be animal rescue centers, they are illegal operations where animals are exploited for monetary gain, often malnourished and sick and kept under horrible conditions. Because they pay kickbacks to boat owners, tourists heading to Pilpintuwasi, Monkey Island or the Caiman Farm are sometimes dropped at one of these instead, so make sure you avoid the serpentarios. Better options include the Amazon Rescue Center, which rescues orphaned manatees and other animals and is probably the only place in the world where you can bottle-feed manatee babies; the Complejo Turistico de Quistococha, with an artificial white sand beach, a museum, a zoo and a natural nursery; the Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve, with bungalows, ecotourism, trekking and excursions in the Amazon forest; the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, the most extensive national protected area in Peru and home to a huge variety of animals and wild plants; the Fundo Pedrito alligator farm, with spectacled alligators, paiches and the Victoria amazonica; the Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm & Amazon Animal Orphanage, where you can see the complete life cycle of butterflies and rescued endangered animals such as anteaters, monkeys, tapirs and Pedro Bello the jaguar; La Isla de los Monos, where monkeys, a sloth, coatis, toucans and macaws roam free and may climb on you or try to take things from you; and the Fossil Creek Wildlife Refuge, a reserve of primary rain forest with a trail system you must be accompanied by a guide to explore.

When to go

Iquitos sits low in the Amazon basin, where the year is shaped less by temperature than by the great swing in river level driven by Andean rainfall and snow melt. Expect warm, humid conditions year-round; the real variable is the water.

Three days in Iquitos

Day one begins in Iquitos, the gateway to the Peruvian Amazon in Maynas Province, Loreto Region. Start with the Plaza de Armas, the city's central square, and walk along Napo Street to get your bearings among the Iquiteños going about their day. Note that Iquitos is reachable only by air or river, so you will likely have arrived at Coronel FAP Francisco Secada Vignetta International Airport, served by carriers such as Latam, Sky Peru and Star Peru, with connections from Lima, Chiclayo, Pucallpa and Tarapoto, as well as Saeta Peru flights to Andoas and Estrecho. Use your first day to adjust to the heat and humidity of the Amazon lowlands.

Day two, head out along Av Grau and Av Jose Abelardo Quiñones, the main routes through the city, before turning your attention to the river. The Amazon River defines Iquitos, and the city sits where the Andes-fed waters of the Peruvian Amazon begin their long journey east. Plan a day on or beside the water to understand how thoroughly the river shapes life here.

Day three, slow down and let the jungle set the pace. Iquitos is a base for exploring the surrounding rainforest, and the Department of Loreto rewards those who take their time. Before you leave, return to the Plaza de Armas and Napo Street for a final look at the city, then make your way back to the airport for your onward flight.

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