Iquitos Things to Do

Iquitos the city that lay on a island in the middl of the jungle. You can reach it by plain, 1.5 hour from Lima or by boat from Tarapoto or Pucalpa that taks 3 to 5 days.
In the city you can arrange your own trip to the jungle or by internet. You can make a expencife trip to luxery lodges or you can make a basic trip and make adventure trekkings into the primairy forest. For all kind of people there is something to do.
If you stay close to the city whit his 350.000 people you see some animals, but if you go far from Iquitos, you stay in paradise.
In the Amazon you can see the gray or the pink dolfins. They are realy beauty to see, playing or fishing. You can ask at the guides to swim whit these beauty animals. A realy nice experiance!
You can piraña fishing, caiman cathing and relise, study about the medicinal plants and insects, there so math to do.
The best way to know it all is to visit this paradise.

Iquitos the city that lay on a island in the middl of the jungle. You can reach it by plain, 1.5 hour from Lima or by boat from Tarapoto or Pucalpa that taks 3 to 5 days.
In the city you can arrange your own trip to the jungle or by internet. You can make a expencife trip to luxery lodges or you can make a basic trip and make adventure trekkings into the primairy forest. For all kind of people there is something to do.
If you stay close to the city whit his 350.000 people you see some animals, but if you go far from Iquitos, you stay in paradise.
In the Amazon you can see the gray or the pink dolfins. They are realy beauty to see, playing or fishing. You can ask at the guides to swim whit these beauty animals. A realy nice experiance!
You can pira?a fishing, caiman cathing and relise, study about the medicinal plants and insects, there so math to do.
The best way to know it all is to visit this paradise.

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I did do a day trip into the jungle outside Iquitos with Walter Soplin Culqui at wacho@lycos.com cell: 965303113 Walter speaks English quite well. We went on an Iquitos city bus on the road toward Nahua to the Alpahuayo National Reserve. Walter is a talented and enthusiastic birder. He can really point out birds and find them by their sounds which you have to be able to do with the low light in the jungle. In the couple of hours we walked in the jungle and road the bus along the road we saw Yellow browed Tyrannulet, Black-billed Saltater, Swallow-winged Puffbird, Widge-billed Woodcreeper, Screaming Piha, Buff-throated Wren, Blue Crowned Mannikin, Parroqui Nightjar, White- spot Antbird, Black Spotted Barbet, Roadside Hawks. We saw a Hot Lips Flower with Blue Berries. A group of black caterpillars on the trail inching along in a mass about the size of my hand, Almadillo Holes, Brown and White termite nests which Walter stuck his hand into one and then mashed up the termites in his hands to show me how they smelled and that hunters would use the smell to mask their own human scent. Fascinating day....good to be with a bird guide....he doesn't have a book or didn't that day so bring one. He used to guide with a local company but struck out on his own. He charged me about $25-$30 US dollars to guide me for the day. I paid my and his transport on the bus which was minimal. His email again is wacho@lycos.com His mobil # is 965303113 and home phone is 51-065-787215 to call from outside Peru.

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If you are in Iquitos take the time to visit Padre Cocha and the Butterfly Farm. The amazon animal orphanage and Pilpintuwasi butterfly farm was an amazing experience for us. We had the tour by the founder, Gudrun Sperrer which just made a fascinating time for us. She told us how she has felt about the project over years and I admire her for all she has done there. Check out her website www.amazonanimalorphanage.org The butterfly tent is fascinating too. If you have $ to spare donate to this place. Not a zoo but an animal sanctuary and butterfly research facility. She takes on some volunteers also. Met a couple of women from England volunteering here.

Take the boat from the outskirts of Iquitos to Padre Cocha. The village is also interesting and stop along the streets for Coconuts and talk to people there, many of whom have extensive knowledge of the area and the environmental projects.

There is a big local marketplace, where vendors were selling fruits, vegetables, live chickens, and everything imaginable. People shop every day for the groceries they need that day. It is a busy place, crowded with people, merchandise and moto-taxis.

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There are some beautiful older houses in the downtown area with imported tile and balconies. They were built by wealthy rubber barons in the 1880s. The iron house is one of the most interesting buildings in town. It was built by Eiffel for the Paris Exposition in 1898. A wealthy businessman had it dismantled, shipped down the Amazon, and reassembled in Iquitos. It now houses a restaurant and bar.

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Belén is a giant floating shantytown that has been here since the early 1900s. Some houses are on stilts; others are built on rafts that rise and fall with the river. Population is 20-30,000. Sewage goes straight to the river, which is also their source of drinking water. It is a different world!

We passed houses, small businesses, and lots of bars with music playing. Vendors sold food from canoes, and one of them was willing to come over to us and show us what she had. Nothing goes to waste—she was selling chicken feet on a skewer for 1 sole. She also had some fruits and vegetables and shaped balls of mashed corn. (Our guide didn't let us eat any of it--probably not a good idea!)

I spent a week on a riverboat on the Amazon and its tributaries, and it was an incredible experience. One of the best parts was meeting local people in the villages we passed.

Please see my Departamento de Loreto pages for travelogues, more tips and photos.