Peru contains the Amazon city of Iquitos. Located in northeastern Peru, Iquitos is the capital of the Loreto Region and sits on the Amazon River system in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon.
Iquitos is notable for its isolation: it has no road connection to the rest of Peru, so most visitors and supplies arrive by air or river. The city is connected by waterways to places including Nauta and, through the Amazon network, Brazil and Colombia. This makes river transport central to daily life and commerce.
The city expanded rapidly during the late 19th- and early 20th-century rubber boom, when Amazonian rubber became highly valuable. Buildings with imported tiles and elaborate façades in central Iquitos reflect wealth generated during that period.
Iquitos is sometimes mistaken for a Brazilian city because it belongs to the wider Amazon basin. It is Peruvian, and its major riverfront is on the Itaya River near the confluence with the Amazon. The city is also a base for visiting surrounding rainforest reserves and communities.