Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The best way to visit the reserve is to go by dugout canoe with a guide from Lagunas (
Click here
)
and spend several days camping and exploring. Alternatively, comfortable
ships visit from Iquitos (
Click here
)
. The nearest lodge is the Hatuchay Hotel Pacaya-
Samiria (
Click here
)
.
If coming from Lagunas, Santa Rosa is the main entry point, where you pay the park
entrance fee (per person S20 per day).
The best time to go is during the dry season, when you are more likely to see animals
along the riverbanks. Rains ease off in late May; it then takes a month for water levels to
drop, making July and August the best months to visit (with excellent fishing). September
to November isn't too bad, and the heaviest rains begin in January. The months of Febru-
ary to May are the worst times to go. February to June tend to be the hottest months.
Travelers should bring plenty of insect repellent and plastic bags (to cover luggage),
and be prepared to camp out.
Iquitos
065 / POP 430,000 / ELEV 130M
Linked to the outside world by air and by river, Iquitos is the world's largest city that can-
not be reached by road. It's a prosperous, vibrant jungle metropolis teeming with the usu-
al, inexplicably addictive Amazonian anomalies. Unadulterated jungle encroaches beyond
town in full view of the air-conditioned, elegant bars and restaurants that flank the river-
side; motorized tricycles whiz manically through the streets yet locals mill around the
central plazas eating ice cream like there is all the time in the world. Mud huts mingle
with magnificent tiled mansions; tiny dugout canoes ply the water alongside colossal
cruise ships. You may well arrive in Iquitos for the greater adventure of a boat trip down
the Amazon but whether it's sampling rainforest cuisine, checking out the buzzing night-
life or exploring one of Peru's most fascinating markets in the floating shantytown of
Belén, this thriving city will entice you to stay awhile. Because everything must be 'im-
ported,' costs are higher than in other cities.
History
Iquitos was founded in the 1750s as a Jesuit mission, fending off attacks from indigenous
tribes that didn't want to be converted. In the 1870s the great rubber boom boosted the
population 16-fold and for the next 30 years, Iquitos was at once the scene of ostentatious
wealth and abject poverty. Rubber barons became fabulously rich, while rubber tappers
