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Iquitos attractions
Iquitos attractions
The riverfront is just one block from the Plaza de Armas. In the low water season it will retreat and thus not be terribly visible. The waterfront walk also seems to be the place where local high schoolers go to canoodle, so if you stroll it be prepared to see lots of this. There is a somewhat big crafts market right below the walk, called Anaconda Center.
The Plaza de Armas is a mix of mostly modern and rubber boom styles. Cities like Iquitos turned into one long party during that age, where no expense was spared, nor eccentricity nor luxury lacking. As part of the legacy of this rubber boom age of abundance, Iquitos still bears traces of the extravagant taste of the rubber barons: mosaic tiles in Italian-style palaces, the bustling riverside walkway or the Iron House, a famous residence designed by Gustave Eiffel that was built from metal sheets. It was carried by hundreds of men through the jungle. There are a few street performers, a fountain, some statues, and one Catholic church. It is quite busy on a Saturday evening.
Today, in the city of Iquitos, the modest local homes -not without a certain kitsch charm- exist alongside French mansions, today largely used as public offices. When rubber seeds were smuggled out of the country, the rubber industry moved to Malaysia, signifying the end of the rubber barons. The memory of this past filled with abundance, however, lives on in the eccentric buildings which testify to an exuberant and wild era.
Casa de Fierro (The Iron House), On the corner of Próspero and Putumayo (Main Square). � It houses crafts shops and a restaurant.
Ex Hotel Palace (Former Hotel Palace), On the corner of Putumayo and Tarapacá (One block from Plaza de Armas). � overlooking the Itaya River.
Mercado Artesanal de San Juan (San Juan handicraft market), Km. 4.5 Av. Abelardo Quiñones. Monday to Sunday from 8am to 6pm. �
Amazonian Manatee (sea cow) Orphanage (Run by the ACOBIA NGO, supported by the IIAP-Institute for Investigation of the Peruvian Amazon and the Dallas World Aquarium), Km 4.5 of Iquitos Nauta highway, ( ). Monday to Sunday from 9am to 12:30, and from 2pm to 4pm. Service free of charge. � this projects aims to rescue orphaned manatees, whose mothers have been killed by locals for food. They also have educational programs for local communities and schools about the importance of the preservation of this species. The employees are very enthusiastic about the animals. Currently (Dec. 2009) they have 4 almost grown up animals in a pond and 4 babies in a smaller swimming pool. Probably the only place in the world where you can bottle feed manatee babies. The entry is free, but a donation is expected. Take a mototaxi from downtown for about 15 soles to get there. They also accept volunteers to educate local school kids.
Complejo Turístico de Quistococha, Km 6.5 of Iquitos Nauta highway (Around 12 km from Main Square). Monday to Sunday from 8am to 5pm. Adult: S/.3.00 Nuevos Soles. Child: S/.1.00 Nuevo Sol. �
Centro de Investigaciones Allpahuayo del IIAP (CIA-IIAP), Km 26.8 Iquitos Nauta highway (Located inside the Allpahuayo Mishana National Reserve), ☎ (+51 65) 26-7733 / 26-5515 / 26-5516 ( ). All around the week. From 16.00 Nuevos Soles. �
Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, Among rivers Marañón, Ucayali and Amazonas, ( ), . Everyday. 3 days by S/. 60.00 Nuevos Soles; 7 days by S/.120.00 Nuevos Soles. � The most extensive national protected area in all over Peru, and the most extensive in all over the floodable Amazon rainforest in South America.
Fundo Pedrito ((alligator farm)), Barrio Florido village, river Amazonas (45 minutes by boat from the Bellavista Nanay port, Iquitos). Monday to Sunday from 8am to 4pm. S/.5.00 Nuevos Soles. � It houses around 10 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). The admission fee includes fish to feed alligators and paiches.
Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm & Amazon Animal Orphanage, Padre Cocha Village (10 minutes walking from the village), ☎ (+51 65) 965-932999 ( ), . Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 4pm. Adult: S/.20.00 Nuevos Soles; Student: S/.10.00 Nuevos Soles; Child: S/.3.00 Nuevos Soles. � At Pilpintuwasi you can see the complete life cycle and learn about the impressing development of butterflies. At the Amazon Animal Orphange you can see the rescued endangered animals that were illtreated, such as anteaters, monkeys, tapirs or Pedro Bello, the Jaguar. Pilpintuwasi is located on the Nanay River Front near the village of Padre Cocha. It's about 20min by boat from Bellavista-Nanay. There are boats all day long. During the dry season you have to walk about 15min from the village. Volunteers are also regularly needed for help!
La Isla de los Monos (The Monkey Island), Timicurillo island, river Amazonas. (Around 45 minutes away from Bellavista Nanay port, Iquitos.), ☎ (+51 65) 23-3801 ( ), . Monday to Sunday from 8am to 4pm. S/.10.00 Nuevos Soles. � Here they have a variety of different monkey species (some endangered), as well as a sloth, some coatis, a pair of toucans and macaws, all of which are free to roam and go into the jungle, but are domesticated and hang around for the food. They happily play, climbing on visitors (and try to take things from you such as glasses, wallets). You can go as part of a tour, Dawn on the Amazon offer tours for US$65 including lunch or a visit is included in the itineraries of several lodge stays, e.g. Cumaceba. To go there by yourself, simply catch a moto-taxi to Bellavista-Nanay, walk 100 m through the market to the water and organise to hire a boat from the boat owner's association. A return trip that can include a trip to Fundo Pedrito on the way should cost S/. 100 in total (per boat, not per person).
The river Amazonas and the Amazon rainforest, Next to Iquitos city. �
The Morey and Cohen houses still stand on the Prospero street, which is the main street. Worth photographing.
La Plaza 28 de Julio, the biggest square in Peru, there are very good 'Chifa' (Peruvian Chinese) restaurants around the square.
One of the major attractions of Iquitos and the AmazonRain Forest is the native tribes.
Visitors beware: There are several so-called 'serpentarios' in and around Iquitos, most notably two called 'Las Boas'. Even though these places claim to be 'animal rescue centers', they are illegal operations, where animals are exploited for monetary gain. Tourists are charged inflated entry rates of up to 40 soles per person, to see some animals that are often malnourished and sick, and kept under horrible conditions. As these places pay handsome kick-backs to boat owners who bring them tourists, it occurs regularly that tourists who hire a boat to take them to Pilpintuwasi, Monkey Island, or the Caiman Farm, are actually dropped off at one of the serpentarios. Don't be fooled, ripped off and cheated out of a visit to one of the better places; and don't support crime against nature with your money. Make sure you avoid the serpentarios.
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Iquitos Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.