Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [428]
Entertainment
Agricobank (Condamine at Pablo Rosell; admission around S5) For dancing, the most locally popular venue is this, a huge outdoor place where hundreds of locals gather for drinking, dancing and socializing. It’s only open at weekends.
Noa Noa Disco-Pub (23-2902; cnr Fitzcarrald & Pevas; admission around S15) More upscale; a very trendy disco with salsa rhythms predominating. If gringos go out dancing, it’s usually here.
Shopping
There are a few shops on the first block of Napo selling jungle crafts, some of high quality and pricey. A good place for crafts is Mercado de Artesanía San Juan, on the road to the airport – bus and taxi drivers know it. Don’t buy items made from animal bones and skins, as they are made from jungle wildlife. It’s illegal to import many such items into the US and Europe.
You can buy, rent or trade almost anything needed for a jungle expedition at Mad Mick’s Trading Post (965-75-4976; michaelcollis@hotmail.com; Putumayo 163; 8am-8pm). Don’t need it afterwards? Mick will buy anything back (if it’s in good nick) for half-price.
Getting There & Away
AIR
Iquitos’ small but busy airport currently receives flights from Lima and Pucallpa.
LAN Peru (23-2421; Próspero 232) operates the best and most expensive flights, with two morning and two afternoon flights to Lima. Star Perú (23-6208; Napo 256) also operates flights to and from Lima via Tarapoto or Pucallpa, all leaving in the afternoon. Fares are about US$130 to Lima and US$86 to Pucallpa or Tarapoto.
Charter companies at the airport have five-passenger planes to almost anywhere in the Amazon. Rates are around US$300 an hour. Other small airlines may have offices at the airport.
Airport domestic departure tax is S13.81.
The airport is about 7km from the center of Iquitos. A taxi costs around S7 for a mototaxi and S15 for a cab.
BOAT
Iquitos is Peru’s largest, best-organized river port. You can theoretically travel all the way from Iquitos to the Atlantic Ocean, but most boats out of Iquitos today ply only Peruvian waters, and voyagers necessarily change boats at the Colombian–Brazilian border (Click here).
Three main ports are of interest to travelers.
Puerto Masusa on Av La Marina, about 3km north of the town center, is where cargo boats to Yurimaguas (upriver; three to six days) and Pucallpa (upriver; four to seven days) leave from. Fares cost S100 for hammock space up to S180 for a tiny (often cell-like) cabin. Boats leave most days for both ports: there are more frequent departures for the closer intermediate ports. The Eduardo boats to Yurimaguas are quite comfortable, although there have been reports from readers of them mistreating transported animals.
Downriver boats to the Peruvian border with Brazil and Colombia leave from Puerto Masusa too. There are about two or three departures weekly for the two-day journey (per person S50 to S80). Boats will stop at Pevas (hammock space S20; about 15 hours) and other ports en route. Boats may dock closer to the center if the water is very high (from May to July).
The Henry Boats ply the Iquitos–Pucallpa route and have their own more organized port (965-67-8630; 7am-7pm) on Av La Marina, closer to the center.
At both ports chalkboards tell you which boats are leaving when, for where, and whether they are accepting passengers. Although there are agencies in town, it’s usually best to go to the dock and look around; don’t trust anyone except the captain for an estimate of departure time. Be wary: the chalkboards have a habit of changing dates overnight! Boats often leave hours or even days late.
You can often sleep aboard the boat while waiting for departure, and this enables you to get the best hammock space. Never leave gear unattended – ask to have your bags locked up when you sleep.
Finally, there is tiny Puerto Embarcadero, for speedboats to the tri-border. These depart at 6am daily except Monday. You’ll need to purchase your ticket in advance. Speedboat offices are bunched