Iquitos is the capital city of the Province of Maynas and the Department of Loreto. It is the largest metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon, and is the ninth largest city in Peru; it is also known as the "capital of the Peruvian Amazon". Tourism in one of the most vital industries in Iquitos. The city has a growing reputation as a tourist destination because of its location on banks of the Amazon River, one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
The Amazonian landscape that surrounds Iquitos is a great reference for inherent ecological tourism that benefits the city. Interesting thing is that the Peruvian Amazon is so big that it could take us months or years to travel in it, for this reason tourism infrastructure has been created in strategic places that allow in a few days to enjoy the Peruvian jungle, its main points of interest, especially near or within protected natural areas. In territories of the department of Loreto are located large areas of protected Amazonian forests, ideal for observing Amazonian fauna and flora, encounters with wildlife and contact with native communities. The natural protected areas in the department of Loreto are the Allpahuayo Mishana National Reserve, the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, the Matsés National Reserve, the Güeppi Reserved Zone, the Pucacuro Reserved Zone, the Santiago Comaina Reserved Zone, the Sierra del Divisor Reserved Zone. Some of them with facilities for tourists, Pacaya Samiria and Allpahuayo Mishana are most visited from Iquitos. In the National Reserve Pacaya Samiria live many communities, both native and traditional as relatively recent settlers. Its territory offers benefits to thousands of people in the area and in neighboring cities, as well as for a first class tourism to know the Peruvian Amazon.
Iquitos is an ideal place for lovers of nature and biodiversity tourism and for those who want to feel an intimate contact with unspoiled nature of the Amazonian forests and the Amazon River. From Iquitos you can take a cruise on the Amazon River or stay in hostels and lodges located in the jungle to explore the most daring and adventurous protected areas you can reach, highlighting the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve and Allpahuayo Mishana, with exuberant fauna and flora, ideal for bird watching, can also take contact with the aborigines of the Amazon or know the rites of ayahuasca.
In the city of Iquitos you can find handicrafts of the jungle natives, as well as enjoy excellent regional cuisine, typical drinks, city life and great nightlife, or sessions with shamans who use ayahuasca. There is a great diffusion of folk medicine and quackery based on the large number of medicinal plants that exist.
Iquitos shows its splendor on the greatest forest on earth.