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Hotel Class: 
3 Stars - 22 Opinions
Av. Aguirre 1151, Iquitos, 342, Peru
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of people enjoy staying here
22 Opinions
the beach
micaela waits for her pizza
im glad it landed lol
locals fishing
I am going to Iquitos in September and am especially interested in piranha fishing. Does anyone know of a good tour that does such a thing, and how far from Iquitos one must travel to do this in terms of time. Thank you.
I'm brazilian but Iquitos is around 850Km far away from Lima/Peru. Iquitos is on the peruvian Amazon. The most near brazilian city to Iquitos is Santa Rosa do Purus. I believe the best way to reach Iquitos is by Lima. I'm listing some nice links to you. I know they will not answer all your questions. Iquitos is on a amazon region, very distant of comfort and technology.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/south-america/peru/
http://www.krolltravel.com/stories/Brazil_PirahanaFishing.htm
http://www.pescamazon.com.br/htm/peixes1.htm#Piranha%20-%20Black%20Piranha
Cassiovieggore
This another link may help you in choosing your glimpse tour:
http://travel.peru.com/travel/english/tours/tours.asp?cCate=12
Cassiovieggore
I was in Iquitos in 2002. Interesting place. I'm sure you know it can be reached only by air or by river.
We took a "jungle" tour. That included piranha (piraña) fishing on the Amazon. Allegedly. We sat in a boat with lines and hooks baited with good steak. We could feel the fish taking the meat, but the hooks were way too big to catch any but the stupidest fish. Net result (pardon pun), was about expenditure = nearly half a kilo of steak, income = about half a dozen little fish. Piranha are really small fish, about the size of your little finger. It's only when there lots of them together they become a threat. If you're brave/silly enough, you can bathe with them, and they will come and clean your mouth out!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/john37perry/214814021/
I never went to Iquitos but yes, the most convenient way to go there is by air from Lima.
For piranha fishing there I suggest you have a look at the pages of my friend Ken, kzapanta.
Thanks for the vote of confidence Noel!!
Yes, I have first hand knowledge of fishing for piranha in the Amazon near Iquitos. The fishes we caught were not finger sized but about the a foot long but they do bite fingers. (as one of my tips show you how to do so correctly.)
Poster, if you ever read the answers, you can vtmail me directly and I see you are close by from me.
Ken
I just wanted to thank everyone who responded to my original question. I am not able to visit this forum often but I do sincerely appreciate everyone's help!! Happy Travels...
Try www.junglelodge.com. This Lodge is 3 hours from Iquitos. I have used them 3 times and they are GREAT!!!
Try www.junglelodge.com. This Lodge is 3 hours from Iquitos. I have used them 3 times and they are GREAT!!!
I have eaten lots of piranha. The ones I catch and keep are about 6 inches long and they are about 3 inches tall. Anything smaller than that you will use as bait. They are the kind of fish that the second you feel them on your line you jerk up to catch them or they will just get all the meat off of your line. Chicken and piranha are the only bait I have ever used.
If you have some time to travel you could travel to Pucallpa by bus or airplane from Lima - and from there take the boat to Iquitos.
I never did this myself..but I'm sure it's great. There is really nothing between this two cities..it's the amazon jungle!
The central market is near the Plaza de Armas, in the centre of Iquitos. It is not specially big or attractive, just another popular market, but is a good place for a cheap breakfast (it opens very early), or lunch if you are not really concerned about extreme higienic measures.
July 28 and 29 are the celebrations for Peru's Independence. In Iquitos on one of these days (I think the 28th, but I don't remember exactly), the city converges on La Plaza de 28 de Julio for a big parade. The edges of one street are packed with people, and schools, military units, and other Iquitos groups march past. It makes for an interesting sight, especially if you're packed in the middle of it. More Pictures
If you happen to show up for this, bring a hat, sunscreen, and lots of water. It gets hot. The parade goes on for longer than you probably have stamina for, so you might see some of it, then walk down the street where you can see the other groups getting ready. Walking around, there are lots of interesting vendors to try things from, and other things associated with large crowds of people. You might like it.
I had a great time exploring the Amazon from Iquitos. Amit ,Eyal and yours truly organized from Iquitos an Independent Jungle Guide called Gerson to take us up the Rio Napo like the locals do it in a Peka Peka over 8 days.
What an adventure spending all day going up the river heading to Equador.
Sleeping on the beaches along the river exploring the jungle at night.
Calling in at small homes along the way.Meeting locals and exchanging rice and petrol for deer meat and fruit.One village we called into claim we where the first white people to visit.The kids actually run away from us when they first saw us to the amusement of Gerson our guide.When we showed the the pictures of them taken on our digital cameras they wanted to know how we shrunk them and put them inside the little box.
We feasted on exotic jungle fruits many I had never seen before.
The fishing nets would come out before dusk to catch some fish for dinner.
The slow pace on the river and being so removed from the gringo trail is something I will never
forget.The thunderstorms that built up in the afternoons and the rain that followed.
Gerson our guide has a great knowledge of the jungle`s flora and fauna.His English language was just as good.Never once where we concerned about our safety as we where in good hands.
We had our own tents and I ended up just sleeping with a sarong over me.
So this was a customized trip to our requirements.We planned to make it to Ecuador but going upriver it ended up going to take a lot longer than expected thus like the way travel often goes.
Just go with the flow!!!!!
Going up and down the Amazon are many kinds of boats. Most people prefer the fast boats, since they get you where you're going in decent time, even if they can be ridiculously noisy. But if you have time and just want some relaxation space, try out the larger, slow boats. They truck along at a snail's pace, but on some of them you can sit up top where it's quiet, and just watch the Amazon pass by. I accidentally found myself on an afternoon (and evening...and night...) boat back to Iquitos, and I really enjoyed the trip. It was great for just sitting around, chatting, enjoying the view, and watching the sun go down. (For you coupled travelers, it's the type of thing that's enormously romantic. Really.)
Boats from Iquitos can be caught down at the river on Avenida de la Marina. Go down there and ask around for information on the boats leaving.
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Q: Raft Race 2011 "Anyone interested in forming a 4 person team for the Iquitos raft race? Sounds like a hoot! http://www.grarr.org/"
A: "Hi - you might want to post on Travel Buddy at www.travbuddy.com as well. Good luck!"
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