Peru. Iquitos

  After the mountains, we returned to Lima, and the next morning we took a flight to Iquitos, the largest city in the world that cannot be reached by road. Located deep in the Peruvian Amazon, Iquitos sits on the banks of the Amazon River system, surrounded entirely by jungle and water routes.

  Arriving at the airport, we took a tuk-tuk into the city center and checked into our guesthouse. The first day was dedicated to preparation for our upcoming 4-day Amazon expedition, as well as our first introduction to Iquitos and the Amazon environment.

   Iquitos itself is a unique city in Peru - a vibrant jungle metropolis connected only by air and river, where motorcycles and tuk-tuks replace cars, and the rhythm of life is strongly influenced by the river and rainforest.

  After check-in, we contacted the local agency Ruth, who organized our expedition. We visited their office, received instructions, and finalized payment for the tour. From there, we walked through the city center, passing Plaza de Armas of Iquitos, the Iquitos Cathedral, and the unusual Casa de Fierro (Iron House), often associated with Gustave Eiffel’s design. While exploring, we also stocked up on essentials for the jungle — mosquito repellent and an extra headlamp.

   Iquitos has a very unique architectural identity compared to the rest of Peru because it developed mainly during the Amazon rubber boom (late 19th–early 20th century). This period brought sudden wealth and contact with Europe, which strongly influenced the city’s buildings. One of the most famous examples is the Casa de Fierro, a prefabricated iron building brought from Europe in the late 1800s. It was designed in Belgium and assembled in Iquitos in 1890 during the rubber boom. The structure is made entirely of iron sheets and was transported piece by piece through the Amazon - a symbol of the era’s wealth and ambition. Although it is often popularly linked to Gustave Eiffel, there is no confirmed evidence that he personally designed it.

   Another key feature of Iquitos architecture is the mix of European “colonial luxury” styles with Amazonian adaptation...

   Later, we walked down toward the river promenade, where we had our first real view of the Amazon River, massive and slow-moving, stretching endlessly into the jungle horizon. This first encounter with the Amazon felt like a completely different world compared to the Andes.

   Riverside life in Iquitos shows a different reality. Many families live in simple houses made of wood and corrugated metal sheets, built on stilts along the riverbank. Life here is modest and challenging, with limited access to infrastructure, but the community is strong and closely connected to the river.

   Tuk-tuks are one of the defining sounds and sights of Iquitos. Their constant buzzing engines fill the streets day and night, making them an inseparable part of the city’s atmosphere. They are the main form of transport within the city and are extremely cheap, so we used them exclusively for getting around Iquitos. We also took tuk-tuks both from and to the airport... Almost every short ride across town is done by tuk-tuk, since cars are much less common in daily urban life here. Tuk-tuks in Iquitos reflect the city’s unique geography - a place with no road connection to the outside world, where transport is adapted to narrow streets, tropical heat, and a fast-moving, river-connected lifestyle.

  We visited Nanay Port on our first day in Iquitos to try local food at the fish market and get our first taste of Amazonian cuisine. The atmosphere was lively, with stalls selling fresh river fish and local specialties right by the water...

  We had lunch with freshly fried river fish with rice and fried bananas — simple but incredibly flavorful local food...

  I also tried suri larvae. They are the edible larvae of the palm weevil beetle, found in the Amazon rainforest, especially in Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. They live inside the trunks of certain palm trees, where they feed on the soft, decaying wood. When harvested, they are usually eaten roasted or fried. Suri are considered a traditional Amazonian food and are rich in protein and fat, with a very soft, creamy texture inside and a slightly crispy exterior when cooked. The taste is often described as nutty, similar to coconut or bacon, depending on the preparation. They are commonly sold in local Amazon markets, including in places like Iquitos, where they are part of the regional food culture alongside fish from the Amazon River.

 

   The market also offered more unusual Amazonian specialties, such as caiman meat, which we tried later on the last day in Iquitos when we returned to the Nanay market. We initially thought it might not be enough, but we ended up eating it all. It was very tasty and satisfying, and most of the meat was tender and pleasant to eat...

   From the upper level of the market tower, we had a wide view over the Amazon landscape and surrounding waterways...

  In Nanay, we also explored the riverside settlement built on stilts over the water, observing how local communities live directly connected to the river. The area reflected modest living conditions, and there was visible waste and floating garbage along parts of the water, highlighting environmental challenges alongside daily life.

   On the road back to the city center we also visited a local fruit market, where we tried freshly pressed mango juice — one of the most refreshing drinks of the trip...

   In the afternoon of the firs day, we returned to the riverbank and took a small boat ride for about an hour...

   This gave us a completely different perspective of Iquitos — floating past wooden houses on stilts, floating vegetation, and small jungle channels branching off the main river...

   Airplanes water parking space...

 Before heading deeper into the river, the boat stopped briefly to refuel with gasoline...

   As we continued, we saw birds along the riverbanks, dense jungle vegetation, and life unfolding directly on the water...

   On the way back, the sun began to set behind the city, and we watched Iquitos slowly appear on the horizon from the river - a mix of jungle, water, and urban landscape glowing in the evening light.

   On our last day in Iquitos, we visited a small boat museum that focused on how deeply the city’s history is connected to river transport. Seeing traditional boats and navigation tools helped us understand how Iquitos grew entirely thanks to the Amazon River system...

   The city itself transformed from a small jungle settlement into a major hub during the rubber boom (late 19th–early 20th century). At that time, wild rubber extraction brought enormous wealth to the region and turned Iquitos into an important export center, attracting foreign investment and rapidly changing its architecture and economy.

   This boom eventually collapsed when around 300,000 rubber seeds were smuggled out of the Amazon and successfully cultivated in Southeast Asia, especially in British colonies. Once plantations in Asia began producing rubber more efficiently and cheaply, Amazonian rubber lost its global dominance, and the local economy declined sharply.

  The museum also featured traditional river boats, including the historic Ayapada boat, used for transporting goods and people along the Amazon network. It highlighted how essential boats were for communication and trade, especially during the rubber boom when the city’s entire economy depended on river transport.

  In the museum, we also saw references to the film Fitzcarraldo, which is inspired by the rubber boom era in the Amazon. Although fictional, it captures the same world of river transport, ambition, and extreme efforts to navigate and exploit the jungle during that period — the same historical context that shaped Iquitos and its boat culture. In one of the museum rooms, there was a display dedicated to the main characters of the film Fitzcarraldo...

  In total, we spent 6 days in the Amazon region, with Iquitos serving as our base between the main expedition and the return journey. We arrived in Iquitos at the beginning of the trip, then returned again after the 4-day jungle expedition, and spent another day in the city before flying back. These short stays in between gave us time to prepare for the expedition, explore the city, and later relax and process everything we had experienced in the Amazon.

  Even though most of the trip was spent in the rainforest, these moments in Iquitos tied everything together and gave context to the expedition itself.