The city Iquitos is the heart of the Peruvian Amazonia region and the biggest city in the world that cannot reached at all via land. You can fly there, which is the most convenient way or if you have some time also take a multi day trip on a boat there. The city itself reminds me personally more of a city in south east Asia: it is humiliating hot, loud, hectic and there are Tuktuks everywhere. I spent a workweek here basically to start an expedition into the jungle and the Amazonian area but also checked out one full day the city itself.
The city
Plaza de Armas
The main square is located at the heart of the city and is flanked by nicely colonial buildings. Also the main church St. John the Baptist Cathedral is located at the place. At night it is very nice enlighted and a meeting point for the people.
Malecón
The rivershore walk is all the way up to the Plaza de Armas on the East side of the city. The construction is a little old and fountains are not working but at the upper end there is a really nice small park with benches to relax and on the shoreline plenty of restaurants and bars.
Plaza 28 De Julio
The biggest place in the city and 2nd important one. It has a big statuef Simon Bolivar in its middle and is dedicated to the independence from the Spanish colonization.
Expedition into the Amazonian
The reason why you probably came to Iquitos is to further go into the jungle and down the Amazonian river. There are many companies offering tours and stays in the jungle but I chose Maniti from which I heard loads of good feedback. They also run their own lodges in the jungle, so everything is out of one hand. I was a little short on time during my visit and only did a 2 day/1 night expedition with them. But I can say it was enough to get a glimpse impression of what is going on in the ecosphere. I did quite some walks, boat rides to explore different sort of animals and was very lucky to also could see some of them. Unfortunately no really big one, except the famous grey and pink river dolphins.
Yagua tribe
On of the native tribes still living in the Amazonian area are the Yagua. Like all other indigenous tribes they have their own language an their tradition which they still apply nowadays. I visited a small village for tourist purposes where they were performing traditional dance and I got the chance to use one of their blow guns.
Monkey island and animal sanctuary
Animal black market is still a big issue and the region and that’s why institutions like those taking care of illegal captured animals are so important. At the monkey island you can spot all kind of smaller monkeys that live there after been freed. At the other place there are more different animals like a big anaconda, caimans and parrots to see. Honestly this place for me felt more like a zoo and the animals were not looking quite happy there just being taken out when some tourist come by.
In the jungle and on the river
Based at the Maniti camp I did several walks into the jungle and boat rides to explore the wildlife and botanical variety of the jungle.
