| NORTH |
| Tumbes |
| Piura |
| Lambayeque |
| La Libertad |
| Cajamarca |
| Amazonas |
| Loreto |
| San Martin |
| CENTER |
| Ancash |
| Lima |
| Callao |
| Huanuco |
| Junin |
| Pasco |
| Ucayali |
| SOUTH |
| Huancavelica |
| Ica |
| Arequipa |
| Moquegua |
| Tacna |
| Puno |
| Ayacucho |
| Apurimac |
| Cusco |
| Madre de Dios |
PERU AT A GLANCEPeru Cities & Destinations
Loreto Info Loreto is the largest yet least populated department in Peru. Its geography is made up of dense Amazonic vegetation characterizing the type of tourism that occurs there. Iquitos, the capital, is the largest city in the Peruvian Amazonia and has various touristical attractions. The city is home to European architecture brought by the rubber boom at the end of the 19th Century. One of the main attractions is the Iron House, a building designed by the French architect Gustave Eiffel who designed the Eiffel Tower as well. The city has buildings constructed during the Art Nouveau era. The Belen district of Iquitos is in sharp contrast of the art nouveau architecture of other parts of the city. Belen lies on a series of canals and is often referred to as the Venice of the Peruvian jungle. Buildings are built atop rafts and other floatation devices to protect from flooding. Loreto's rivers contain many beautiful beaches which serve as day trips from Iquitos. The department of Loreto contains numerous National Parks as well as private reserves. These protected areas are home to an extreme diversity of animal and plant life unmatched throughout the world. These areas are served by organized guides many of which can be obtained in Lima or Iquitos.
Loreto Tourist Information
Loreto is the largest yet least populated department in Peru. It is covered by dense vegetation and by primary and secondary jungle with low hills and slightly rolling landscape, crisscrossed by the many rivers of the Amazon River basin, which is born at the confluence of the Marañon and Ucayali Rivers.
Iquitos, the capital of Loreto, is the main port city on the Amazon River and the largest city in the Peruvian jungle. Different indigenous people groups like the Cocama, Huitoto, and Bora first inhabited the area. Then came the Jesuit missionaries who founded the city. At the end of the nineteenth century was when Iquitos experienced its greatest economic glory due to the rubber industry. The economic bonanza meant that luxurious buildings like the art noveau Palace Hotel and the Iron House, designed by the famous French architect Gustave Eiffel, were constructed there.
In contrast to these buildings, you find the homes in the Belen neighborhood that are constructed on top of rafts and pylons to protect them from the flooding of the river. One of the best attractions in Loreto is navigating on the rivers and lakes and enjoying the beautiful beaches.
The Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve (2,080,000 hectares), the largest reserve in Peru, is located 183 kilometers from the city and is home to numerous plant and animal species, many of them in danger of extinction like the charapa river turtle, the giant river otter, the black caiman, and the river dolphin.Likewise, the Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve (58,000 hectares) protects the largest concentration of white sand forests, or varillales as they are known in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. This happens to be one of the best areas to go for bird-watching. //In addition to these national reserves, there are also numerous private reserves, which have been created to satisfy all tastes.Map of Loreto Loreto Photo Gallery Loreto Accomodations Loreto - Peru Hotels directory
Hotel directory with a comprehensive listing of the most important bed and breakfast, homestay, hostel, hotel, lodges, haciendas, estancias, and other establishments where you can stary during your visit.
Useful information
Lowest point: 70 masl / 230 fasl (Amelia).
Highest point: 220 masl / 722 fasl (Balsapuerto)
By air: Regular flights to Iquitos from Lima (1 hour and 30 minutes), Tarapoto (50 minutes) and Pucallpa (1 hour). Sporadic flights to Iquitos from Yurimaguas (40 minutes) and Leticia, Colombia (1 hour).
By river: It is possible to travel from Pucallpa (Puerto La Hoyada, 2,5 km / 1,5 miles from the city) to Iquitos by boat via the Ucayali River with stops at Requena and Contamana in a chartered boat, small but fast, built for 10 to 15 people, hired as a private service. The trip lasts 1 to 2 days, depending on the level of the river. If you elect to travel by “motonave”, a larger boat with room for 250 people, the trip then takes longer, 4 to 5 days, depending on the river current
Nauta (Province of Loreto) 115 km (71 miles) / 2 hours by bus or 14 hours by boat.
Caballococha (Province of Mariscal Ramón Castilla) 311 km (193 miles) / 2 days by boat.
Requena (Province of Requena) 157 km (98 miles) / 19 hours by boat.
Contamana (Province of Ucayali) 431 km (268 miles) / 3 days by boat.
Kilometer marker 6, Av. Abelardo Quiñones. Telephone: (065) 26-0147 / 26-0151.
Av. 28 de Julio s/n. Punchana, Iquitos.
Telephone: (065) 25-2004 / 25-2733.
Attention: 24 hours.
Iquitos Apoyo Hospital
Cornejo Portugal 1710, Iquitos.
Telephone: (065) 26-4715.
Attention: 24 hours.Tourism Police - POLTUR Iquitos.
Calle Sargento Lores 834.
Telephone: (065) 24-2081.
Attention: 24 hours.
Morona Police Station, Iquitos
Calle Morona 120, Iquitos.
Telephone: (065) 23-1123.
Attention: 24 hours.
Punchana Police Station
Av. de la Marina/28 de Julio.
Telephone: (065) 25-1970.
Attention: 24 hours.Anaconda
Mercado Artesanal de San Juan
Malecón Tarapacá-Boulevard, Iquitos.
Attention: Mon. – Sun. 8:00 A.M. – 10:00 P.M.
Kilometer marker 4.5 Av. Quiñones, Iquitos.
Attention: Mon. – Sun. 8:00 A.M. – 10:00 P.M.
Telephone: (065) 22-3812 / 23-4091.
Attention: Mon. – Sat. 7:00 A.M. – 7:30 P.M.Regional Government of Loreto www.regionloreto.gob.pe
IPerú, TOURIST INFORMATION. Email: tourism@peru.com or click here.Transportation
Loreto Cuisine
Among the typical dishes of the department, the following are most representative:
Traditional Drinks:
Juices:
- Masato: drink made of cooked, smashed, and fermented yucca, with molasses or sugar.
- Aguajina: juice made with aguaje, a palm tree fruit.
- Chapo: juice of ripe bananas (Capirona).
- Shibe: juice prepared with fermented and toasted yucca.
Cocktails:
Piraña bite: made with rum and cocona.
- Huitochado: made with the "huito" fruit, sugar, and cordial.
- Chuchuhuasi: cordial made from a bitter and astringent root, very popular in western Peru.
- Siete Raíces: made with bark from different trees like the Brazilwood, clove vine, breadfruit, huacapurana, chuchuhuasi, rosewood, and ipururo, sweetened with honey and macerated in cordial.
- Coconachado: made from the cocona fruit, sugar, and cordial.
- Huarapo: fermented sugar cane juice.
Headquater Lima
Guzman barron st. 3816
SMP-Condevilla
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p.(51-1)4564144
f.(51-1)5650016
p.(51-1)5680834
Email: tourism@peru.com
Southamerica - Tours – Peru
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