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Voykit pocket guide · Peru
Iquitos
Base 3 nights: 2 for a jungle lodge or reserve, 1 for the city. Fly in — there is no road. Skip if you want beaches or ruins.
Iquitos is the largest city on earth you cannot reach by road: about 380,000 people, 106 m above sea level, ringed by the Amazon, Nanay and Itaya rivers. Flights from Lima take about 1 h 50 min. Most travellers come for three things — rainforest lodges and reserves, river villages, and ayahuasca retreats — and the city itself is a half-day of rubber-boom buildings and a riverfront walk. Heat is constant: 31–32 °C highs all year, rain in every month.
- Country
- Peru
- Best months
- Jun–Sep (drier, lower river)
- Avoid
- Dec–Apr (wettest; high water floods trails and beaches)
- Stay
- 3 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- PEN
- Money
- Currency is the Peruvian sol (PEN, S/). Cards work in hotels and larger restaurants in Lima and Cusco; markets, small towns, taxis and entrance fees in villages need cash.
- Daily spend
- Budget S/120–200 excl. bed · Mid S/200–400 excl. bed · High S/400+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- Claro, Movistar, Entel and Bitel sell prepaid SIMs; register with your passport at official shops.
- Emergency
- Police 105 · Fire 116 · Ambulance 106
- Plugs
- Types A, C · 220 V · 60 Hz · US devices need to be dual-voltage (most chargers are).
- Tipping
- Restaurants: About 10% if service is not included.; Inca Trail porters and cooks: Per the operator's guidance; pooled at the end.; Guides: S/ 20–50 per person for a day tour.
- Water
- Not safe from the tap; bottled or filtered.
- Toilets
- Paper in the bin; carry tissue and coins for public toilets.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Menu del día (set lunch) | S/10–20 |
| Amazon river fish (paiche, gamitana) main | S/25–45 |
| Beer, bar or shop | S/8–15 |
| Mototaxi across the centre | S/2.5–3 |
| Boat, Bellavista-Nanay to Padre Cocha | S/15–20 each way |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | S/30–60 |
| Reserve or animal-centre entry | S/3–50 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- IQT · Coronel FAP Francisco Secada Vignetta International Airport
- 6.5 km southwest of the centre; mototaxi to town about S/10, car about S/20.4 mi southwest of the centre; mototaxi to town about S/10, car about S/20.
Typical fares
- Airport → centre, mototaxi
- about S/10, 20–30 min
- Airport → centre, car
- about S/20
- Mototaxi in the centre
- S/2.5–3
- Bellavista-Nanay → Padre Cocha, boat
- S/15–20, about 20 min
Get around
Mototaxis (three-wheeled motorcycle taxis) are the main transport: about S/2.5–3 in the centre, S/3+ to Belén, S/10 airport to centre. Agree the price first; drivers earn commission from hotels, so name your hotel and stay firm. Boats from Bellavista-Nanay port serve Padre Cocha, the animal centres and river villages; buy tickets at the port.
See and do
Known for
- Gateway to the Peruvian Amazon
- Pacaya Samiria and Allpahuayo-Mishana reserves
- Rubber-boom architecture and the Iron House
- Ayahuasca retreats
- Mototaxis
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm and Amazon Animal Orphanage | Mototaxi to Bellavista-Nanay port, then boat to Padre Cocha village | About 1 h |
| Amazon Rescue Center (Centro de Rescate Amazónico) | Mototaxi along the Iquitos–Nauta road to Km 13.8 | About 45 min |
| Quistococha | Mototaxi to Km 6.5 of the Iquitos–Nauta road | About 30 min |
| Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve | Mototaxi or tour van to Km 26.8 of the Iquitos–Nauta road | About 1 h |
| Pacaya Samiria National Reserve | Boat from the city or Nauta, usually as a multi-day lodge or camping trip | Half a day to reach |
| Santa Rosa Island | Boat down the Amazon toward the Colombian border | About 1.5–2 h |
Sleep
- Plaza de Armas and Malecón Tarapacá
- Walkable core: cathedral, Iron House, riverfront, most restaurants. Best for one city night.
- Belén and the market edge
- Cheaper beds and the floating market; busier and rougher at night. Use for early boat departures.
- Punchana and the airport road
- Quieter hotels with pools, 10–15 min by mototaxi from the centre; good with kids.
- Jungle lodge (out of town)
- Most visitors sleep 2–3 nights at a lodge on the Amazon, Nanay or a reserve; transfers included.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| How much to the centre? | ¿Cuánto al centro?KWAN-to al SEN-tro |
| Stop here, please | Pare aquí, por favorPA-re a-KI por fa-VOR |
| I already have a hotel | Ya tengo hotelya TEN-go o-TEL |
| The bill, please | La cuenta, por favorla KWEN-ta por fa-VOR |
| Is it safe to swim here? | ¿Es seguro nadar aquí?es se-GU-ro na-DAR a-KI |
| I need a doctor | Necesito un médicone-se-SI-to un ME-di-ko |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake; one cheek kiss among acquaintances; avoid: Skipping greetings
- Food pride: Ask about local dishes; avoid: Comparing pisco or ceviche unfavourably with Chile's
- Photos: Ask and pay if asked; avoid: Photographing people without asking
- Politics: Listen; avoid: Taking sides in protests
Scams and watch-outs
- No road in or out: flights fill up and cancel in heavy rain — build a buffer day before an international flight.
- So-called serpentarios (snake shows) near the city are illegal animal-exploitation operations and pay boatmen kickbacks; some boats bound for Pilpintuwasi or the rescue centres drop tourists there instead. Confirm the destination before you board.
- Ayahuasca is a strong psychedelic. Choose a retreat with medical screening, no alcohol or drug mixing, and a way to reach a clinic; avoid anyone who pressures you on the street.
- Heat, mosquitoes and dengue: repellent, long sleeves at dusk.
- Mototaxi drivers at the airport are pushy and may divert you to a hotel that pays them.
The centre is busy and generally safe by day; take mototaxis after dark rather than walking Belén or the port area, watch for bag-snatching in markets, and treat ayahuasca only with a vetted retreat. Dengue and heat are the everyday risks.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Iquitos yet. Suggested stay: 3 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Gateway to the Peruvian Amazon
- Pacaya Samiria and Allpahuayo-Mishana reserves
- Rubber-boom architecture and the Iron House
- Ayahuasca retreats
- Mototaxis
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- iPerú — official tourist information and assistance: www.peru.travel
- CORPAC / ADP — Iquitos airport (IQT): adp.com.pe/es/sede/iquitos
- Pacaya Samiria National Reserve — Peru travel: www.peru.travel/en/attractions/pacaya-samiria-national-reserve
- Amazon Rescue Center (Centro de Rescate Amazónico): www.centroderescateamazonico.com/
- Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve: allpahuayomishana.com/
- Wikivoyage: Iquitos, revision 5256352 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5256352
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Iquitos
A esta dirección, por favor
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Iquitos; most countries keep embassies in Lima. The US, UK, Canada and Australia all operate from Lima.
Carry a copy of your passport; the Amazon border with Colombia and Brazil is a short boat ride away.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/iquitos). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.