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Iquitos Basic Facts : Iquitos - Iquitos Information

 

History Iquitos

Iquitos is an important region historically to Peru. The fossil remains found in this zone, corresponding to the tertiary age, confirm the antiquity of the zone. The bony remains of the "Man of Paracas", the second horticulturist of Peru (6,870 B.C.) were found in the Santo Domingo Pampa. The people of this era lived in straw huts, fished, farmed and exchanged goods.

Between 1925-7 in the ParacasPeninsula, Julio C. Tello discovered the great cemeteries known as Necrópolis. They were from a Pre-Columbian culture. The ancient Paracas bodies were found mummified with fine colorful clothing that was full of symbols.

Years later in Cahuachi the Nasca culture was developed. The ceramics created during this time are considered to be the best in Pre-Columbian American. The painters that depicted these pictures on pots' surfaces were considered to be masters of their time and craft. And we can't forget the world famous "Nasca Lines", which are figures of animals and objects imprinted in the desert surface. To this day no one is sure how they got there. The Inca Empire's domination of Iquitos 's territory began at the time of Inca Pachacutec. During the conquest, Nicolás de Rivera el Viejo arrived to Iquitos looking for a proper place to found a new city. The Iquitos Valley's Villa de Valverde was founded on September 30, 1563 by the Spanish captain Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera. Many years later, San Martín with its expedition team landed in Pisco, thus beginning the Peru's independence from Spain. Colonel Mariano Ignacio Prado created the Department of Iquitos in 1866.

 

Geography Iquitos

This department has a remarkable geographical make-up. It is the only department on the southern coast formed by plains and also includes part of the Andean Cordillera.
Some of the biggest iron deposits on the PacificCoast have formed in this area.

Iquitos 's geography has been determined by the joining of two large watersheds: the Pasco and the Iquitos . There is a river called the Rio Grande. It is inadequately named because its waters do not even reach the sea. They are mainly used for agricultural purposes in Pampa, Nasca and Ingenio.

The large expansive desert areas of Iquitos such as the Lancha Pampas and Villacuri Pampas are extremely hot. Aside from the heat, there are also strong, persistent winds called "Paracas", which create large clouds of sand.

Tourism Iquitos

There are good beaches, diverse marine wildlife, interesting museums and excellent hotel services to be found in Iquitos . One of the highlights is the Paracas National Reserve, where live a number of animal colonies such as sea lions and coastal birds reside. The "Nasca Lines" are a must see for any tourist. These 32 drawings of marine and terrestrial animals, human and geometric figures cover an area of more than 350 km. The city of Iquitos is well known because of the wineries surrounding the city. Tourists can take day tours of the different wineries and their production facilities and of course, sample the finishing product.

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