Discover Loreto: Rainforest, Rivers and Culture

Loreto offers a wide range of ways to experience the Peruvian Amazon: protected areas with their own routes, waterfalls and river trips sit alongside museums and a historic iron structure in Iquitos. If you are looking for a holiday rental in Loreto, you can first consider which experiences you want your trip to focus on—nature watching, water and activity, or culture and history.

Protected Areas and Nature Trails

The Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve extends across the provinces of Alto Amazonas, Ucayali, Loreto and Requena in the Department of Loreto. Visitors must use the services of tour operators authorised by SERNANP or local tourism groups. This requirement is important to bear in mind when planning a stay in this protected area.

The Allpahuayo Mishana National Reserve offers two routes, each with different ways to experience nature. The Biodiversity Route is in the district of San Juan Bautista and offers birdwatching and hiking. The Nanay Route adds recreational fishing and boat trips; birdwatching, hiking, and flora and fauna observation are also available there. The Allpahuayo Mishana National Reserve is home to endemic species associated with white-sand varillal forests. Visitors particularly interested in birds and plants will find several nature-focused options here; those who prefer to be on the water can consider the boat trips mentioned for the Nanay Route.

Water-based experiences also shape visits to other places. At Aguas Calientes in the district of Contamana, a warm pool forms where hot and cold water meet and is used by bathers. The Lágrimas de Amor Waterfall is in the district of Contamana, in the Sierra del Divisor Reserved Zone. Its water plunges about 100 metres and forms a small pool where visitors can bathe. The round trip is 3.5 kilometres and follows a trail and passes through a ravine with cold water; the total journey is stated to take about three hours. When planning a trip, you can therefore decide whether a dip in the warm pool or the walk to the waterfall appeals more.

Iquitos: Museums and an Iron Structure

In Iquitos, the Museum of Amazonian Indigenous Cultures is dedicated to preserving, exhibiting and sharing the cultural diversity of Indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon. The objects on display include artefacts, musical instruments, weapons, funerary urns and crowns. The Amazonian Museum in Iquitos offers another perspective: it houses 32 fibreglass sculptures of Indigenous people from the Peruvian rainforest and has three exhibition halls whose displays change monthly. It occasionally holds educational workshops for children, talks on environmental protection and temporary exhibitions.

The Casa de Fierro, also known as the Eiffel House or Iron House, is a historic prefabricated iron structure in Iquitos. The second floor houses a restaurant serving local cuisine; the building is also used for cultural events and exhibitions. The Ayapua Historical Boat Museum was built in Hamburg, Germany, in 1906. The Ayapua Historic Boat Museum is 33 metres long and 5 metres wide and has ten exhibition halls with various antiques. Iquitos thus brings together a range of cultural attractions: Indigenous collections, a historic iron structure and a museum ship.

More Nature and Water Experiences

Monkey Island is home to six primate species undergoing rehabilitation. A visitor and interpretation centre explains primate conservation and briefs visitors on interaction and hygiene procedures before the tour. For those interested in watching animals, this introduction is a distinct part of the visit. The tourist park of Quistococha in the district of San Juan Bautista has a zoo with animals and birds characteristic of the region. The park also includes Tunchi Playa, an artificial beach with white sand.

The Amazon Aquarium in the Loreto region displays, among other things, the arapaima, also known as pirarucu, giant stingrays, electric eels and around 120 regional ornamental fish species. On the Amazon River in the Loreto region, visitors can take trips by boat, motorboat and canoe; medium-sized cruise ships also navigate the river. Water-based experiences range from seeing individual fish species in an aquarium to taking a trip on the Amazon.

Explore More Places in Loreto

When looking for a holiday rental, you can start by considering which experiences matter most to you: museums and the iron structure in Iquitos, routes and nature watching in the protected areas, or waterfalls, pools and river trips. Other subregions to consider include Mazán, Tamshiyacu, San Jerónimo, Iquitos, Paraíso, Puritania, San Regis, Nauta, Yarina, Puerto Pardo, Yurimaguas, Santa Fe, Francisco De Orellana, Sucusari, Shapajilla, Pucate, Arica, Maynas and Lagunas.

For the broader travel overview: Peru.