Home Site Map Flights Hotels Tours Testimonials Contact Us
 
  Top Peru Tours
  Peru Cultural Tours
  Peru Luxury Tours
  Peru Adventure Travel
  Archaeological Tours
  Mystical & Esoteric
  Ecological Tours in Peru
  Experiential Activities
  Birdwatching Programs
  Relax & Beach Tours
  Health Tourism
  Peru Tours by Destination


  Destinations in Peru
  Peru Adventure Travel
  Nature and Ecology in Peru
  Peruvian History
  Culture, Arts & Traditions
  Peru Facts at a Glance
  Useful Travel Tips
  Peru Pictures

Loreto

Iquitos Buildings

Iquitos guards amidst its steamy foliage and the mysterious murmur of the Amazon River, a collection of architectural jewels that take visitors by surprise, both for their beauty as well as their unique style: these are the legacy of the past of the rubber barons, who turned Iquitos into a veritable commercial paradise at the end of the nineteenth century.


It was the era known as the rubber boom, a golden age for European adventurers who amassed vast fortunes from the gum trees that covered hundreds of hectares in the region, and which supplied the raw material that was indispensable for the flourishing industry of the time. Cities like Iquitos -which up until then had been a small port town- turned into one long party, where no expense was spared, nor eccentricity nor luxury lacking.


As part of the legacy of this age of abundance, Iquitos still bears traces of the extravagant taste of the rubber barons: mosaic tiles in Italian-style palaces, the bustling riverside walkway or the famous residence designed by Gustave Eiffel and which was built from metal sheets carried by hundreds of men through the jungle. Today, in the city of Iquitos, the modest local homes -not without a certain kitsch charm- exist alongside French mansions, today largely used as public offices.


Over time, with the invention of nylon and other alternative products, demand for rubber dwindled, signifying the end of the rubber barons. The memory of this past filled with abundance, however, lives on in the eccentric buildings which testify to an exuberant and wild era.






Iquitos Tours Iquitos Hotels Iquitos Flights


Iquitos Travel Guide
  Iquitos
  Loreto Facts
  Buildings of Iquitos
  Pacaya Samiria Reserve
  San Juan Festival
  Loreto Map

  Cusco
  Machu Picchu
  Lima
  Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
  Titicaca Lake - Puno
  Nazca Lines - Paracas
  Ica
  Manu
  Arequipa
  Huaraz
  Puerto Maldonado
  Ayacucho
  Tarapoto
  Chachapoyas
  Kuelap
  Iquitos
  Trujillo
  Junin
  Tacna
  Lambayeque - Chiclayo
  Abancay
  Cajamarca
  Huancavelica
  Huanuco
  Moquegua
  Cerro de Pasco
  Piura
  Tumbes
  Pucallpa
Página desarrollada para Peru travels.net - Copyright © 2005 Todos lo derechos reservados
Central Telefónica: (511) 222-7999
www.peru-tours.info - www.e-peru-tours.com