City Detail

Iquitos ( (listen); Spanish pronunciation: [iˈkitos]) is the capital city of Peru's Maynas Province and Loreto Region. It is the largest metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon, east of the Andes, as well as the ninth-most populous city of Peru. Iquitos is the largest city in the world that cannot be reached by road, it is accessible only by river and air.It is known as the "capital of the Peruvian Amazon". The city is located in the Great Plains of the Amazon Basin, fed by the Amazon, Nanay, and Itaya rivers. Overall, it constitutes the Iquitos metropolitan area, a conurbation of 471,993 inhabitants consisting of four districts: Iquitos, Punchana, Belén, and San Juan Bautista. The area has long been inhabited by indigenous peoples. According to Spanish historical documents, Iquitos was established around 1757 as a Spanish Jesuit reduction on the banks of the Nanay River.