Humfeld of Greentracks
Iquitos is the gateway for tourism on the upper Amazon. There are some excellent jungle lodges - varying from rustic to upscale - a few hours by boat away from Iquitos.
It is possible to take
riverboat trips from Iquitos to
the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, a place that abounds with
wildlife, either on an upscale riverboat or on one of the two restored
rubber boom-era riverboats (now fitted with modern amenities). Closer to Iquitos, it is harder to find original jungle but there is still plenty to see (drone video farther down this page).
Iquitos, located on the
Amazon River in northeastern Peru, was originally one of
the numerous Indian settlements organized by the Jesuit missionaries in
the 16th century, and was known as San Pablo de Napeanos.
Its population dispersed, but a community was re-established around 1760. Since the majority of the population was Iquitos Indians it became known as the village of Iquitos.
In 1864, three years after President Ramon Castilla had established the Departamento de Loreto (State of Loreto) port facilities were built and this is generally considered as the founding date of Iquitos.
At the end of the nineteenth century Iquitos, along with Manaus, Brazil, prospered greatly from the exportation of rubber.
During this period of grandeur many fine buildings were erected, including the "Iron House" designed by Gustav Eiffel of Eiffel Tower fame, which was purchased at the Paris World's Fair by a rubber baron, disassembled and brought to Iquitos where it was re-assembled in 1886 and still stands on the Plaza de Armas.
The center piece of the
Plaza de Armas, the Iquitos Cathedral, was completed in
The Hotel Palacios was built from 1908-1912 and is one of many buildings faced with ceramic tiles imported from Italy and Portugal.
With the end of the Rubber Boom, around 1910, Iquitos fell into a deep decline, and it wasn't until the discovery of oil in the mid-twentieth century that Iquitos began to prosper again.
Today Iquitos has a
population around 400,000 and depends on exports of oil, wood, plant products, and tourism.
Article by Scott Humfeld, Iquitos Operations Manager for Greentracks, an ecotourism company that provides the finest nature and culture-oriented trips into tropical regions of Latin America.
Founded in 1992 by prominent tropical biologists, GreenTracks has delivered memorable adventures with expert guidance to thousands of vacationers. www.GreenTracks.com