Iquitos Vacations, Iquitos Vacation Reviews, Tourism Guide

Iquitos Vacation Guide

Iquitos, the charming little capital of Peru's Lareto Department, is known as the most populous city in the world to have no overland routes. To reach Iquitos, you must either fly in, or come by boat via the Amazon River. Surrounded by the rainforest, Iquitos is a disarming mix of wilderness and neon boomtown, alive with throngs of birds and the soft colors of the equatorial sunrise in the morning, yet buzzing with legions of tuk-tuk-esque motocaros at night.

Iquitos is named for the tribe that originally inhabited the area, but the city was officially founded in 1750 by Jesuit missionaries. By the 19th century, the rubber boom brought in an influx of wealth, and established the city as a major jungle outpost.

Today, Iquitos is a base for Amazon tourism, and is the home of many companies offering trips to remote jungle lodges. Other sights in Iquitos include the floating village of Belen, Gustave Eiffel's Iron House and the Iglesia Matriz. Amazon trips from Iquitos offer chances to fish for piranha, to go for machete-led walks into the jungle, to canoe by moonlight, and to view a multitude of wildlife, including pink dolphins, sloths and monkeys.