Iquitos is an ideal place for lovers of the ecological tourism, and
for the ones who want to feel an intimate contact with the virgin nature
of the Amazon forests. From the city you will be able to go to lodges
into the jungle, and for the most adventurous and fearless you can
arrive to parks and natural reservations, full and plethoric with
exuberant flora and fauna, with many undiscovered places, and many alive
species unknown by science.
Iquitos is the capital of the department of Loreto, located in the
middle of the Peruvian forest, less than 4° south of Ecuador, and next
to the left river bank of the Amazon River.
Iquitos was a village inhabited by the wild tribe called the "Iquitos"
from whom the name was taken in the moment of its foundation in 1864.
During the Spanish Colony and the gold fever caused by the legends of
"El Dorado" (The Golden) and the "País de la Canela" (Country of the
Cinnamon), Iquitos never had historical figuration. In 1883 began in
this city the era and peak of the rubber, the exploitation of their
latex and trade made that some reached immense fortunes, it brought the
prosperity of the city and the construction of splendid houses began,
some with tiles brought from Portugal.
In those days, Iquitos had better communications, with Europe, through
the Amazon River, better than with the city of Lima. Part of the
characteristic of this time was the acquisition of a house built by G.
Eiffel in Paris and today located in the Main Square of Iquitos, the
House of Iron. The end of the era of the rubber arrived in 1912.
From then on, Iquitos has always been the main fluvial mean and
principal Amazon port of Peru; its economic activity has been centered
in the commercialization of its natural resources and lately the
exploitation of petroleum.
Near the city of Iquitos exists a zoological park of the Amazonian
fauna, spas and resorts in "cochas" (lagoons). Almost in the same city
you will be able to visit "Belen", the Peruvian Venice, or go for a walk
by the pier and observe the mightiest river in the world, the Amazon
River.
The population of Iquitos in its great majority are natural descendants
of regional wild tribes and of the miscegenation. The people's temper is
very noble and cheerful, lover of the amusement. Iquitos is also famed
by the quantity of men that arrived to the city and lost their
bachelorhood, because of the affection that women in this region give to
the visitors. The population has many myths and legends, some occult;
there is a great diffusion of the folkloric medicine and the faith to be
cured with those medicines based on the great quantity of medicinal
plants that exist.
In the city you will be able to find crafts of the wild tribes, as well
as enjoy an excellent cuisine and typical drinks and beverages.
The typical public transportation in the city is the "mototaxi" or "motocar",
it is a motorized tricycle used for passenger transportation with a very
economic rate. There are also taxies in conventional cars that generally
don't have air-conditioning. In the city you can rent a motorcycle or an
automobile.
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