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Iquitos

Introduction

Drijvende huisjes bij Iquitos

Iquitos is a city in the northeast of Peru and with over 400,000 inhabitants it is the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest. It is also the largest city in the world which can only be reached by boat or plane! The city is the capital of both the Loreto Region and Maynas Province.

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Neighbourhoods

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Sights and Activities

Tapiche Ohara's Reserve

Scientists, photographers, and nature lovers in general will enjoy a trip to Tapiche Ohara's Reserve (District of Tapiche, Province of Requena, Region of Loreto). The 1,540 hectare reserve, accessible only by waterway, is located 340 kilometres up river from Iquitos on the Tapiche River. The reserve comprises several types of lowland Amazonian forests, including igapo, varzea, and terra firme. The reserve spans both sides of the Tapiche River east of the Ucayali River and is home to different endangered species such as the Jaguar, Red Uakari Monkey, Giant Armadillo, the Tapir, the Amazonian Manatee, Harpy Eagle, Cedar, Mahogany and others. Inside the reserve, there are bodies of water and swamps including lakes, canals, oxbows, aguajales, and restingas. It has annual temperatures ranging from 25 °C to 33 °C and an annual rain fall of about 3,000mm, permitting an immense variety of species to thrive in the area.

jungle_fluo orange frog

The operators of the reserve have an application pending with the Peruvian government for designation of the Reserve as a Private Conservation Area. To travel to the reserve one can depart from ports in Iquitos or Nauta. Departure from either of these ports will take you to Requena, which is the last public port where gasoline and supplies can be purchased. Travel by water from Iquitos to Requena includes navigating up the Amazon and Ucayali Rivers. From Nauta to Requena by water, one takes the Maranon River briefly to the Amazon River and then the Ucayali River. From Requena to Tapiche Ohara’s Reserve, one one takes a private or rental boat up the Tapiche River.

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Events and Festivals

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Weather

Iquitos has a tropical climate with hot and humid conditions year round. Temperatures hover around 30-32 °C during the day and 20-23 °C at night. Rain is common in all months, but June to September is slightly drier than average. August is the driest month with around 165mm of rain, as opposed to over 300mm in May, the wettest month.

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Getting There

By Plane

Coronel FAP Francisco Secada Vignetta International Airport (IQT) has regular flights to/from Lima, Pucallpa, Cuzco and Tarapoto.

By Land

Although Iquitos can not be reached from places further afield, there is about a 100 kilometres of road between Iquitos and the town of Nauta to the south.

By Boat

Both slow and fast ferries connect Iquitos with the triple frontier area with Colombia at Leticia and Brazil at Tabatinga, from where you can connect further to cities like the central Amazonian Manaus and Belem on the Atlantic Ocean, over 3,000 kilometres away. The slow boat to the triple frontier takes a few days, the fast one about 10 hours.
There is also a cargo ship connection to Ecuador once every 10 days and once a week a ship goes to Pucallpa in Peru.

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Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

The most common way to move around town is by motocarro, a motorcycle with a small, rickshaw-like passenger cabin in the back.

By Foot

By Bike

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Eat

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Drink

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Sleep

Budget

Property	Address	Type	Popularity
Amarillis Inn Hotell *** Iquitos	Calle Libertad Nro. 719 - Iquitos	Hotel	63
Amazon Apart Hotel	Av. Aguirre 1151	Hotel	84
Hotel Acosta	Huallaga 254	Hotel	70
Victoria Regia Hotel & Suites	Ricardo Palma 252	Hotel	75
Green Track Hostel	Calle Ricardo Palma 510	Hostel	-
Heliconia Amazon River Lodge	Yanamono community 50 miles away from the City of Iquitos	Hostel	66
Flying Dog Hostel Iquitos	Malecon Tarapaca 592	Hostel	86
Camiri Floating Hostel and Bar Lounge	Calle Pevas Cdra. 1 Parte Baja,	Hostel	95
Nativa Apartments & Suites	Calle Nanay 144	Apartment	-
San Pedro Lodge	San Pedro - Rio Nanay	HOTEL	77
Muyuna Amazon Lodge	Amazon River, 140 kms Upiver from Iquitos	Hotel	-
Charapas Hostel	Av. Raimondi 156	Hostel	86
Hotel Dubai	Jr Napo 480	Hotel	75
Hospedaje Camelias	Calle Las Camelias 500 - San Juan Bautista	Guesthouse	-

Mid-Range

Upscale

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Work

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Learn

Iquitos has four universities: Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana (UNAP), the local state university; Universidad Particular de Iquitos (UPI), Universidad Científica del Perú (UCP), Universidad Peruana del Oriente (UPO) three private institutions. It is also home to the Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (IIAP), the Institute of Investigation of the Peruvian Amazon.

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Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

Post

Check the Serpost website, the national postal service (a private company), for more information about prices and options regarding the sending of postcards, letters and parcels. The post service is relatively efficient and post offices can be found in most cities and (larger) towns. Post offices generally are open from 8:00am to 8:00pm Monday to Saturday and some are open on Sundays from 9:00am to 1:00pm. Postcards are available from street vendors and shops at any touristy area, and stamps are generally available as well, though sometimes only at the post office itself. It takes at least 10 days to send a postcard to North America and prices start at S/5.5. To Europe it is S/7.8 and it takes even a bit longer, around 2 weeks. For little extra money, you can choose 'expresso' services. For large parcels and quantities, you can use both Serpost or a company like DHL which is faster and offers the same prices, though it is still relatively expensive. UPS for some reason is much more expensive in Peru!

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