Welcome to Iquitos!
Iquitos is a city of 380,000 people (2017) in the Amazonas region of Peru.
For travelers, Iquitos offers a vast selection of activities not found elsewhere in Peru, such as Amazon boat rides and great wildlife viewing. One way to see Peru is to visit the 3 areas — Coastal, Andes, and Amazon — and Iquitos is the best way to see the Amazon.
Iquitos is also the gateway to some of the top national parks and reserves for ecological conservation and wildlife viewing. Some of the best reserves are the Allpahuayo-Mishana, renowned for endemic bird species seen nowhere else, and the Pacaya Samiria, which is the largest track of flood forest in the upper Amazon basin and is home to a stunning variety of freshwater aquatic life, including large Arran turtles, jabiru storks, and large black caiman, and the Area de Conservacion Reserva Comunal Tamshiyacu Tahuayo, which holds the world’s record for the diversity of species of monkeys in one reserve (16 species) as well as for mammal diversity.
Iquitos has attracted a lot of travelers from around the globe who are interested in the ancient shamanic ways of plant healing. The most popular shamanic medicine is Ayahuasca, a powerful psychedelic brew that is gaining increasing popularity worldwide. (Don't confuse it with the Department of Amazonas where Chachapoyas is located).
Iquitos is the capital city of Peru's Maynas Province and Loreto Region. The largest metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon, east of the Andes, it is the ninth-most populous city in Peru. It is the largest city in the world that cannot be reached by road – it is accessible only by river and air. It is known as the "capital of the Peruvian Amazon". The city is located in the Great Plains of the Amazon Basin, fed by the Amazon, Nanay, and Itaya rivers. Overall, it constitutes the Iquitos metropolitan area, a conurbation of 471,993 inhabitants consisting of four districts: Iquitos, Punchana, Belén, and San Juan Bautista.
The area was long inhabited by indigenous peoples. The founding date of the European city is uncertain. Spanish historical documents state that it was set up around 1757 as a Spanish Jesuit reduction by the banks of the Nanay River. The Jesuits gathered local Napeano (Yameo) and Iquito natives to live here, and they named it San Pablo de Napeanos.
In the late 19th century, during the Amazon rubber boom, the city became the center of export of rubber production from the Amazon Basin and was the headquarters of the Peruvian Amazon Company (PAC). The city's economy was highly dependent on the PAC, controlled in the nation by Peruvian businessman Julio César Arana. PAC kept indigenous workers in near-slavery conditions through the use of force and harsh treatment, until an investigation caused a reaction against the company. In addition, rubber seedlings had been smuggled out of the country and cultivated on plantations in Southeast Asia, undercutting the prices of the Peruvian product. With the decline of the rubber industry, many workers and merchants left Iquitos.
As one of the leading cities, along with Manaus, in the huge Amazon rubber boom (1880-1914), Iquitos was influenced by the numerous Europeans who flocked to it. Architecture and cultural institutions established during this period expressed their own traditions. An opera house and Jewish cemetery were among the institutions established.
Later in the 20th century, the city and region diversified its economy. The region exported timber, fish and their products, oil, minerals, and agricultural crops. It also derives revenue from tourism and related crafts. By 1999, the city had consolidated its four municipalities.