"Iquitos Queen of the Amazon" a Iquitos Travel Page by Weny

Iquitos is the largest city in the world that can only be reached by plane or boat. It cannot be reached by car or bus, train or truck. It is a fascinating mix of old colonial buildings from the city's rubber boom era and indigenious culture from the Amzonian region. It is the gateway to the Peruvian Amazon and sits on the Ucayali river. The Ucayali feeds into the Amazon which is not far from the city. The lush vegetation, beautiful old buildings covered in azueljos, tiles from Portugal, and its unusual setting along the river make it a very romantic and exotic place.

There are many buildings like this one in Iquitos. However, not far from the city center lies the town of Belem, which has some very distinctive structures as well. Belem is town of floating houses and is also home to one of the world's most notorious markets. The Belem market sells everything from liptstick and machetes to sea turtle meat and jaguar hides(!). This is a very unique place and should not be missed. The other interesting thing about this city is the arts. There are local galleries and dance groups and there was always something going on at night. It is a very lively place.

A pretty typical day on one the tributaries of the Amazon. People work, fish, kids swim and animals hide when they see your canoe coming!