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Iquitos © Galen R Frysinger

Overview: Peru's largest jungle city, Iquitos is a major base for holiday excursions to the Amazon Basin. The city has a friendly tourist resort atmosphere and a range of accommodation. Once a booming rubber town, Iquitos' main industries are now oil and tourism.

Differing images contribute to the varied character of today's jungle town - the population is a mixture of European immigrants and indigenous tribes people; grand buildings lining the streets are visible albeit faded remains of its past importance, and the rustic Belén quarter, where scores of stilted huts or rickety homes resting on rafts were designed to accommodate the fluctuations of the river, are home to impoverished families.

Situated on the banks of the mighty Amazon River, Iquitos is accessible by air and river only, and is constrained by the surrounding rainforest. The river system around Iquitos offers some of the Amazon's best access to remote parts of the jungle and to Indian villages, and boat excursions can easily be arranged. Native tribes live along the river banks and organised trips to the villages include a show of traditional song and dance along with plenty of encouragement to buy their handicrafts, now a major source of income for the people.