Laguna Venecia

If you visit Tarapoto, it might be because you love nature. There are so many things to see and do around, unfortunately for most of them you have to drive a bit, but not for this one.

Laguna Venecia (Venecia Lagoon) is a small pond located only about 5 km outside of Tarapoto, which makes it one of the easiest places to visit. It's a quite lake with many palms and other trees and higher plants that will help you feel you are in a tropical paradise - perfect for starting your journey through Tarapoto or at least taste something of it, if you don't have much time (this was our case).

The way to go there is by Moto Taxi, take one in the city. It costs about US$ 2. Other thing you would have to pay is a gate fee, which is US$1 per person.

Once you are inside you can just relax and enjoy the nature. There are paddleboats for rent at US$2.5 for 15 min. A small swimming area is blocked off but you can swim in the whole lake, it’s not that large. You can also buy some bananas to feed the monkeys that are around. There's a minizoo where you can see some local fauna.

And after spending a great time here, you can taste some local food in the restaurant located just in front of it.