Stand on the Malecón Tarapacá in the late afternoon and the Itaya River is right there below you, with the metal walls of the Casa de Fierro a short walk inland and the Plaza de Armas a block further. This is a city you reach by boat or by plane, and the river is never far from anything you do here.
Iquitos suits travellers who want the Amazon as a base rather than a backdrop: you can spend mornings on the water and afternoons among buildings left behind by the rubber boom. It rewards a little planning, particularly when choosing which animal and reserve projects to support.
This guide covers the sights in town, the reserves and rescue centres out along the Iquitos–Nauta highway and the rivers, and how to string the best of them into a single day.
Top things to do in Iquitos
1. Jungle trips
Jungle trips are the main reason to visit Iquitos, which serves as the launch point for excursions into the Amazon. Single-day and multi-day trips can be booked, and you are taken out by boat to look for wildlife such as monkeys, alligators, giant lily-pads, baby caimans, anacondas, boas and tarantulas.
Your taxi driver or hotel concierge will gladly contact a tour guide for you, but note that they receive a kickback for the referral, so it is worth arranging your trip through a source you trust rather than accepting the first offer that comes to you.
2. Pacaya Samiria National Reserve
Lying among the Marañón, Ucayali and Amazonas rivers, this is the most extensive national protected area in Peru and the most extensive floodable Amazon rainforest in South America. It is home to a great variety of animals and wild plants.
Entry is S/30 for foreigners, S/15 for Peruvian adults and S/8 for Peruvian children. Because it is reached by river, plan it as part of a multi-day jungle trip rather than a quick stop.
3. Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm & Amazon Animal Orphanage
At Pilpintuwasi you can see the complete life cycle of butterflies and learn about their development. The attached Amazon Animal Orphanage cares for rescued endangered animals that were ill-treated, including anteaters, monkeys, tapirs and Pedro Bello, the jaguar.
It sits on the Nanay River front near the village of Padre Cocha, about 20 minutes by boat from Bellavista-Nanay, with boats running all day; in the dry season you walk about 15 minutes from the village. It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00–16:00, and costs S/30 for adults, S/15 for students and S/5 for children. Volunteers are regularly needed.
4. Amazon Rescue Center (Centro de Rescate Amazonico)
Run by the ACOBIA NGO with support from the IIAP and the Dallas World Aquarium, this project rescues orphaned manatees whose mothers have been killed by locals for food, along with other animals such as ocelot. It also runs educational programs for local communities and schools about preserving the species, and the employees are enthusiastic about the animals.
It is probably the only place in the world where you can bottle-feed manatee babies. Take a mototaxi from downtown to reach it on the Iquitos–Nauta highway at Km 13.8; it is open Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00–15:00, at S/30 for adults, S/15 for students or children, with 50% discounts for Peruvians. They also accept volunteers to educate local school children.
5. La Isla de los Monos (The Monkey Island)
On Timicurillo island in the Amazonas river, this site holds a variety of monkey species, some endangered, as well as a sloth, some coatis, a pair of toucans and macaws. The animals are free to roam into the jungle but are domesticated and stay around for the food, and they will happily climb on visitors and try to take things such as glasses and wallets.
It is open daily 08:00–16:00 and costs S/50 for adults and S/20 for children, or S/30 for Peruvians (S/10 for children). You can go as part of a day tour, or a visit is included in the itineraries of several lodge stays. To go independently, take a mototaxi to Bellavista-Nanay, walk 100 m through the market to the water and hire a boat from the boat owner's association; a return trip by fast boat should cost S/50 per person, or S/25 by small boat.
6. Fundo Pedrito alligator farm
In Barrio Florido village on the Amazonas river, this farm houses spectacled alligators, paiches — the biggest freshwater fish in the Amazon basin and one of the longest fish in the world — and the Victoria amazonica, the biggest lily-pad in the world.
It is open daily 09:00–16:00 and the S/5 admission includes a bucket of fish food. It is about 45 minutes by boat from the Bellavista Nanay port.
7. Complejo Turístico de Quistococha
This complex occupies 369 hectares of Amazon forest and includes an artificial white sand beach called Tunchi Playa, surrounded by vegetation composed mainly of aguaje palm trees. It also houses a museum, a zoo and a natural nursery; the museum includes a taxidermy collection of Amazonian fauna, and the zoo is home to mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish.
It is on the Iquitos–Nauta highway at Km 6.5, south of the main square, and is open daily 08:30–17:30. Admission is S/3 for adults and S/1 for children, making it an easy low-cost half day if you are already heading out of town.
8. Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve (Reserva Nacional Allpahuayo-Mishana)
This reserve at Km 26.8 on the Iquitos–Nauta highway offers bungalows, ecotourism, trekking and excursions in the Amazon forest. It is a good option if you want forest time with somewhere to stay rather than a single-day outing.
Because it lies further out along the same highway as Quistococha and the Amazon Rescue Center, it works best as part of an overnight or multi-day plan rather than a rushed add-on.
9. Fossil Creek Wildlife Refuge (Reserva Piedral)
Created in May 2016 in the Terra Firme forests of the communities of Roca Eterna and Nuevo Union de Boyador, the reserve consists of 1000 hectares of primary rain forest and the drainage system of the Quebrada Piedral. It has two small jungle huts and a trail system, and you must be accompanied by a guide.
It is described as the only reserve with quick access from Iquitos to virgin rainforest that is teeming with wildlife. Contact Otorongo Expeditions to arrange a visit, and travel responsibly to support sustainable development in the region.
10. Iquitos Cathedral (Iglesia Matriz de Iquitos)
The main Catholic church in Iquitos, at Arica and Putumayo streets, completed in 1919 in neo-Gothic style. It sits within the Plaza de Armas, so you can see it while walking the square rather than making a separate trip.
Pair it with the plaza itself, which is quite busy on a Saturday evening and has street performers, a fountain and statues.
11. Casa de Fierro (the Iron House)
On the corner of Próspero and Putumayo at La Plaza 28 de Julio, this house was shipped from Belgium and assembled here in 1890. It is called the Eiffel building because it is falsely claimed to have been designed by Gustave Eiffel, who also designed a well-known tower in Paris.
It now houses crafts shops and a restaurant, so it is a natural stop for souvenirs. While you are on Próspero street, the main street, look out for the Morey and Cohen houses, which still stand there and are worth photographing.
12. Ex Hotel Palace (former Hotel Palace)
A beautiful Art Nouveau building overlooking the Itaya River, completed in 1912, at Malecón Tarapacá N ° 216 on the corner of Putumayo, one block from Plaza de Armas. It is one of the clearest surviving traces of the extravagant taste of the rubber barons.
Combine it with a walk along the riverfront, which is just one block from the Plaza de Armas. In the low water season the river will retreat and not be terribly visible; the waterfront walk is also where local high schoolers go to canoodle, so be prepared to see plenty of that.
13. La Plaza 28 de Julio
The biggest square in Peru, on calle Tacna at Calle San Martín, with very good Chifa (Peruvian Chinese) restaurants around it. It is also where you find the Casa de Fierro, so the two are easily done together.
Come hungry and treat the surrounding Chifa restaurants as the point of the visit rather than an afterthought.
14. Plaza de Armas and the riverfront
The Plaza de Armas is a mix of mostly modern and rubber boom styles, with a few street performers, a fountain, some statues and one Catholic church. During the rubber boom cities like Iquitos turned into one long party, and the city still bears traces of that era: mosaic tiles in Italian-style palaces, the bustling riverside walkway and the Iron House.
The riverfront is just one block from the plaza, and below the walk there is a somewhat big crafts market called Anaconda Center. The plaza is quite busy on a Saturday evening, so plan accordingly if you want it quieter.
15. The River Amazonas and the Amazon rainforest
The river and the rainforest sit next to Iquitos city and are the setting for most of what you will do here, from boat trips to reserve visits. Tour agencies can also organise visits to native tribes' villages, one of the major attractions of Iquitos and the Amazon rainforest.
Be careful when booking anything involving animals. Several so-called serpentarios operate in and around Iquitos, most notably two called Las Boas; although they claim to be animal rescue centres, they are illegal operations where animals are exploited for monetary gain, with inflated entry rates of up to S/40 per person for animals that are often malnourished and sick. Because these places pay kickbacks to boat owners, tourists heading to Pilpintuwasi, Monkey Island or the Caiman Farm are sometimes dropped at a serpentario instead, so confirm your destination before you set off.
If you only have one day
Morning: Start in the centre while it is cool. Walk the Plaza de Armas and step into Iquitos Cathedral, then head to La Plaza 28 de Julio to see the Casa de Fierro and the Morey and Cohen houses on Próspero street. Finish the loop at the Ex Hotel Palace on Malecón Tarapacá and walk the riverfront, dropping into the Anaconda Center crafts market below the walk.
Afternoon: Take a mototaxi out along the Iquitos–Nauta highway to the Amazon Rescue Center for the manatees, then continue to Complejo Turístico de Quistococha for the beach, museum and zoo. If you would rather stay on the water, take a mototaxi to Bellavista-Nanay and hire a boat to Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm & Amazon Animal Orphanage at Padre Cocha instead.
Evening: Return to the centre and eat Chifa around La Plaza 28 de Julio, then walk the Plaza de Armas and the riverfront again after dark, when the square is at its busiest.
Frequently asked questions
How do you reach Iquitos?
Only by river and air. Iquitos is the largest city in the world that cannot be reached by road and is not on an island.
When is the riverfront at its most visible?
Not in the low water season, when the river retreats and is not terribly visible from the waterfront walk. The Plaza de Armas itself is quite busy on a Saturday evening.
Are the serpentarios worth visiting?
No. Although they claim to be animal rescue centres, they are illegal operations where animals are exploited for monetary gain, with inflated entry rates of up to S/40 per person for animals that are often malnourished and sick. Because they pay kickbacks to boat owners, tourists heading to Pilpintuwasi, Monkey Island or the Caiman Farm are sometimes dropped at one instead.
Can you visit the reserves without a guide?
At Fossil Creek Wildlife Refuge you must be accompanied by a guide. For river destinations such as La Isla de los Monos and Pilpintuwasi, you can arrange your own boat from Bellavista-Nanay, or go as part of a day tour or a lodge itinerary.
Decide whether your priority is the river or the city, book your jungle trip through someone you trust, and start planning your days around the water.