Iquitos vs Puerto Maldonado?
 

Which one is a better place to visit to get a flavor of Amazon forests? We have the option to start our Peru tour from Puerto Moldanado or end our last leg by flying into Iquitos. I am very confused as to which will be more appealing. We have only two and a half days for this which I understand is not enough but we will be happy to get the experience versus not getting it all. We are not big enthusiast of nature travel or wildlife but don't want to pass on this opportunity to visit Amazon since this is our once in a lifetime trip.

If you're not a fan of nature travel and wildlife, then don't go. That's pretty much what there is to do in either place. There are places to stay in both cities, but most visitors use the city as a launching pad to get to one of the area nature lodges. These lodges are reachable by boat.

But if you are going ...

A lot depends on where else you will be. Puerto Maldonado is less than an hour by non-stop flight from Cusco. Iquitos is not on the way to or from anywhere, just Iquitos. It would involve backtracking to Lima, from where it's a two-hour flight.

Iquitos is on the Amazon River itself. Puerto Maldonado is on the Madre de Dios and Tambopata Rivers, both tributaries of the Amazon, but not the big river itself.

Thanks Jeff. Which place would you recommend over the other? We will never get a chance to come back to Peru again so we thought will cover this area in the lease possible time 2-3 days..

I agree withJeff. There isn't that much to do in either if you are not going to go beyond the cities themselves. But, of the two, I I would go to Iquitos. There is more there to keep you busy if you aren't going to a jungle lodge. I would also think Iquitos is a safer destination health wise.

I think I'd go to Iquitos given your interests. Get a guide once you get to Iquitos, using a travel agency (and not a guy who takes you into town from the airport), to explore a little bit of the Amazon and the rain forest.

We have not been to Puerto Maldonado for 20 years, so much might have changed, but then it was a very, very impoverished small town. Nothing to do there except get on a boat to go to the jungle. My husband lost his wallet there and we spent a full afternoon at the police station. The police station had no electricity or running water. Iquitos is a real city. Maybe PM is more developed now.

Just read the Tripadvisor review of the best hotel in PM. More electricity but looks as if not much else has changed since we were there. I still remember the sugar coated Brazil nuts I bought there.

If you want to get to THE AMAZON, go to Iquitos and make a river trip your top priority. You'll get to be on the Amazon without too much jungle.

I recommend visiting Iquitos, has better activities in the forest, go trekking and at the same time you can see monkeys, sloths, pink dolphins, birds, piranhas, etc.. in their natural habitat.