The knock at the door comes early. "¡Buenos días! Good morning!" It´s 5 am and your guide is rousing you for the dawn excursion to the nearby ccollpa de guacamayos. He doesn´t want you to miss the riotous, colorful spectacle of hundreds of macaws and parrots descending to the vertical clay lick to ingest a beakful of mineral rich earth. Roll over and go back to sleep? Blasphemy! You're in the Amazon. A stay at any of remote Iquitos or Madre de Dios lodges is not for the faint of heart. You will need to gear up for a different type of vacation experience. Relaxing and luxuriating it will not be, although some facilities are quite comfortable. Your days will be packed with activities: bird and wild life watching, boat trips, rain forest hikes, visits to indigenous communities, mountain biking, white water rafting and on. You 'll be with guidesfrom the minute you're picked up in Iquitos, Puerto Maldonado or Cusco. Most lodgeshire top notch guides who know their areas well, and you'll be forever amazed at their ability to spot that camouflaged howler monkey from a hundred paces.
Peruvian Amazon Jungle, Iquitos:
Iquitos, located on the banks of the Amazon River, is the most important city in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. It is recommended to visit and spend some days in this wonderful cozy city, and some lodges to know and be in contact with the Amazon rainforest, you will have the opportunity to visit native populations, walk in the jungle guided by specialists that will show you a great variety of flora and fauna, one of the best attractions is canopy tour (a kind of rope to climb to glide and see birds and plants). Also you will have boat ride programs where you will see lots of wildlife, lodges are protected with meshes will prevent mosquitoes and insects. The suspended walks are carefully adapted to gigantic trees and are among the tallest trees in the world. care and maintenance is in charge of the Peruvian foundation, the canopy walk is built where small say where it is said there is still a lot to see.
What to do when arriving in Iquitos?
The airport is relatively small and when leaving (and of course after going to the SSHH) you will find a number of "mototaxistas" or moto drivers that will offer you transfer and accommodation, do not fall as a traveler!, because for each tourist that they take to a hotel they earn a commission that you could ask for as discount, that's why we recommend you always ask them to take you to the parade ground of Iquitos, (20 minutes by motorcycle taxi) from there on foot You can search between different hostels, hotels if you have not yet booked one. Here you can think about what you really want to do?
- Option 1: Stay in the city and die burned by the heat of the jungle.
- Option 2: Venture in the jungle through rivers and piranhas. Adventure in the jungle!
Well if you choose the option 2, we have the best list of activities that you can do at your arrival:
- VISIT THE MAIN SQUARE: It is one of the obligatory stops and the best thing of all is that to do it you do not need to pay. It is located in the Jirón Putumayo 253 in Iquitos and here your sight can delight with architectural gems like the Obelisk of Heroes.It is also known as Square of commerce or Square of Iquitos. In it is the Obelisk of Heroes, which has the shape of an obelisk with four sides, which are shrinking, so that you can see its top. With it tribute is paid to the heroes of the battles liberated by Peru in the Pacific War.The Main Square also has a circular pool, located on the south-east side, at night the pool offers a show based on jets of water that reaches ten meters high, illuminated with colored lights, mainly colored lilac.
- VISIT THE MALECÓN TARAPACÁ:It is located in front of the Amazon and Itaya rivers, so you will enjoy beautiful landscapes, historical monuments and ancient constructions. Here you can see the old mansions of the "barons of rubber", which were built along the lively "Malecón Tarapacá", or also called "Boulevard", during one of the times of greater economic splendor of Iquitos, as it was " rubber fever. " The Malecón Tarapacá offers us a privileged view of these beautiful republican buildings, as well as the Itaya River, which is one of the tributaries of the Amazon. This place is one of the busiest in the city; Among its main attractions is an impressive sculptural element with waterfalls, which, like a large painting, offers a beautiful view of the Loreto sunset. Through its wide paths you can see gardens and small squares, as well as some buildings considered historical monuments and of great architectural value such as the Ex Palace Hotel, the San Agustín College, the Iquitos Real Hotel, the Amazon Library and Museum and the former Consulate Colombian.
- KNOW THE FIRST PREFABRICATED HOUSE IN LATIN AMERICA: It's called "Casa de Fierro" and it's in front of the Main Square. Its construction was in charge of the French architect Gustave Eiffel.The Iron House of Iquitos is considered a Historical Cultural Patrimony of the Nation. It is said that it was the first prefabricated house in Latin America, it is one of the emblematic buildings that the city of Iquitos has. The building has a European style design with balconies on both facades, roof in a pyramidal form of four waters, supported by columns of wrought iron. The location and its design allow to have a panoramic view of the parade ground.
- DATE A RETURN FOR THE MATRIX CHURCH: Located between Arica and Putumayo streets, it is one of the most important sites in Iquitos. It was built between 1911 and 1924.The church is a republican structure that, for what is known, was erected in the place, at the beginning of the 20th century. Today this temple is part of the Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Nation, and in fact one of the best preserved. As for the architectural design of this temple, it is characterized as a structure of a single nave that is covered by a vault. The predominant style of construction design is neo-Gothic. The building draws attention for the beautiful facade that presents and on whose center rises a fantastic tower. The tower that is part of this church reaches more than 20 meters high and ends in a metal cross.
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