• HOME
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG
    • Travel
    • Golf
    • Blogging
    • All blog posts
  • BOB’S WORLD
    • Best pictures of BoB
    • BoB’s golf jokes
    • BoB’s look-alike
    • BoB in the media
  • DESTINATIONS
    • Southeast Asia
      • Malaysia
      • Singapore
      • Thailand
    • South America
      • Argentina
      • Bolivia
      • Chile
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Galapagos
      • Peru
    • Central America
      • Belize
      • Costa Rica
      • Guatemala
      • Honduras
      • Mexico
      • Nicaragua
      • Panama
  • INSPIRATION
    • Gallery
    • Videos
BoB around the world BoB around the world
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG
    • Travel
    • Golf
    • Blogging
    • All blog posts
  • BOB’S WORLD
    • Best pictures of BoB
    • BoB’s golf jokes
    • BoB’s look-alike
    • BoB in the media
  • DESTINATIONS
    • Southeast Asia
      • Malaysia
      • Singapore
      • Thailand
    • South America
      • Argentina
      • Bolivia
      • Chile
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Galapagos
      • Peru
    • Central America
      • Belize
      • Costa Rica
      • Guatemala
      • Honduras
      • Mexico
      • Nicaragua
      • Panama
  • INSPIRATION
    • Gallery
    • Videos


Home Peru THE BIGGEST ISOLATED CITY IN THE WORLD: IQUITOS, PERU

THE BIGGEST ISOLATED CITY IN THE WORLD: IQUITOS, PERU

Jul 4, 2014 | Posted by Liane | Peru, South America | 0 comments |

Iquitos 1280

A giant city in the middle of the rainforest

Iquitos? Where is that? If you are asking yourself this right now, you think the same as I did! Before we traveled to Iquitos on a cargo boat we had never ever heard about this city. BUT Iquitos is not just a normal city. It is said to be the biggest isolated city in the world!

Where is Iquitos, Peru

Iquitos – in the middle of nowhere

Typical bus in Iquitos, peru

Typical bus in Iquitos built from metal and wood

Iquitos is located at a branch of the Amazon River in the Peruvian Amazon Basin. Officially it has 400,000 inhabitants. With the surrounding villages it even counts more than 900,000 people. Isn’t it incredible for a place that is totally surrounded by rainforest?

The only street connection that exists leads to the 100 km away city Nauta. That’s it. Iquitos can be reached solely by boat or airplane. Food, machines, building material, clothing, medicine, cars, animals… all that and much more only arrives by these two means of transportation.

House at Plaza de Armas, Iquitos, Peru

A jewel on Plaza de Armas

A CITY WITH UPS AND DOWNS

Iquitos looks back on a history that is characterized by golden glorious times and dark hard times. From 1870 on the rubber boom brought wealth into the city for 30 years. But as quickly as the boom started, it vanished again. Rubber seeds were smuggled to Malaysia and the whole business moved away from Iquitos. In Asia it was much easier and cheaper for harvest rubber.

House in Iquitos, Peru

A beautiful old building in the main shopping street
Plaza de Armas, Iquitos, Peru
Plaza de Armas
Church in Iquitos, Peru

Catholic Church on Plaza de Armas

During the glorious booming time a lot of beautiful houses were constructed that have survived until today. Especially along the esplanade, around the main square Plaza de Armas and the main shopping street Avenida Próspero some Art Nouveau Facades can still be found.

At Plaza de Armas the catholic church is especially beautiful when the sun sets and lights illuminate the facade.

House in Iquitos, Peru

Former Hotel Palace at Iquitos esplanade

At the beginning of the 1960s the discovery of oil and the timber industry brought once more a lot of money to Iquitos and the city underwent another period of economical prosperity. During the last years the tourism industry has become more and more important. With its unique location Iquitos is the perfect place for starting a trip into the Peruvian rainforest.

Boys on Plaza de Armas, Iquitos, Peru

Boys sitting on the Plaza de Armas

WHERE DOES ALL THAT NOISE COME FROM?

Everywhere in the city you hear the noise of the thousands of mototaxis, motorcycles or scooters rushing through the streets. Cars are definitively an exception. Just wave with your arm and within seconds a mototaxi will stop for you. A drive within the center usually costs 2 soles ($0.70).

You want to get an idea of the sounds in Iquitos? Watch our “No comment” video!

Hundreds of mototaxis in Iquitos, Peru
The city is full of mototaxis
Scooter, Iquitos, Peru
Scooters is the most popular mean of transportation next to mototaxis and motorcycles

STROLLING ALONG THE ESPLANADE

One of Iquitos highlights is the esplanade which is just one block from Plaza de Armas. During the day tourists are having a coffee or lunch in one of the various restaurants. As soon as the sun starts to set and the temperature gets more comfortable locals love to spend their time at the shore of Lake Zungarococha. Street artists and street vendors form the picture of the esplanade at dusk. Kids enjoy a ride in one of the cute mini mototaxis and adults listen to the jokes of the different entertainers.

Esplanade, Iquitos, Peru
View from the esplanadefacebook-follow-final
Esplanade, Iquitos, Peru
Locals and tourists spending the evening at the esplanade
Esplanade, Iquitos, Peru
Lake Zungarococha at dusk

BELÉN – A GIANT MARKET

Belén is one of the four districts of Iquitos and consist of a giant market where you find everything you look for… and much more. Uncountable stands with fruits, spices, vegetables, meat, clothing, homewares dominate the market.

Belen Market, Iquitos, Peru

A part of the market is built on stilts above the water

There are also “special” areas where you get all ingredients for traditional medicine. As the public hospitals do not have a good reputation amongst locals and are often too expensive many of them believe in the power of traditional healing methods.

Belen market, Iquitos, Peru

Big market hall in Belén with stands selling meat

A shocking part of the market is the area where all types of animals are offered. A lot of the species are prohibited to sell but as we heard people try to earn money with everything they find in the rainforest… sloths, snakes, birds, caymans and much more. We decided not to visit this part because we were sure that we would leave the place with a sad feeling.

Belen Market, Iquitos, Peru

Oh! Who are you? We couldn’t take our eyes off this cute little monkey

Kids on the Belen market, Iquitos, Peru

Brother and sister we met in the market hall. They were so proud that we took a pic of them.

Kids on the belen Market, Iquitos, Peru

Kids are fascinated by the cartoons on TV

So, the next time when somebody wants to show off with the fact that Mexico City is the largest city on earth, you can impress with the biggest isolated city in the world: Iquitos, Peru!

Have you ever been to Iquitos? And what impressed you most? Let me know and leave a comment!

Thanks for reading and safe travels!

Liane

Newsletter sign up Travel BoB around the world blog

  • share
  • tweet
  • share
  • pin
  • stumble
Tags: Amazon BasinAmazon RivercityIquitosPerurainforestvideo
0 Comments
0

You also might be interested in

TOP 10 THINGS TO DO IN PERU

TOP 10 THINGS TO DO IN PERU

Jun 25, 2015

Hi there, are you looking for some great things to[...]

HIKING THE SANTA CRUZ TREK, PERU

HIKING THE SANTA CRUZ TREK, PERU

Sep 5, 2014

Hiking the Santa Cruz Trek, Peru Welcome to the Andes![...]

AMAZON JUNGLE TOUR IN PERU

AMAZON JUNGLE TOUR IN PERU

Oct 28, 2014

The Amazon - a miracle of nature The Amazon blows[...]

Leave a Reply

We are always happy to hear from you
Cancel Reply

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Who we are

Follow us

  • 966 Fans
  • 4,047 Followers
  • 221 Followers
  • 47 Subscribers
  • 1,562 Followers
  • 557 Followers

Grab your FREE e-book!

Ebook Central America and South America

Join us on instagram

Feel free to contact us

We are always happy to read your messages and try to reply as soon as possible

Send Message
Don't miss your FREE e-book Grab it here

Contact

  • BoB around the world
  • www.bobaroundtheworld.com
Disclaimer/Privacy Policy

BoB

BoB is currently in Germany

Latest posts

  • WHY IT WAS THE RIGHT DECISION TO LEAVE HOME AND TRAVEL THE WORLD
  • BLOG REPORT, 2nd Quarter 2015
  • TOP 10 THINGS TO DO IN SINGAPORE
  • TOP 100 TRAVEL BLOGS 2015

Copyright © 2013 - 2015 All Rights Reserved / www.bobaroundtheworld.com / Travel blog by funny golf ball BoB

  • share
  • tweet
  • share
  • pin
  • stumble