Tarapoto
Peru · Americas
About Tarapoto
Tarapoto, founded in 1782 as Santa Cruz de los Motilones de Tarapoto, is a commercial hub town in the San Martín Province of the Department of San Martín of northern Peru. It is an hour by plane from Lima, in the high jungle plateau to the east of what is known as the selva baja (low jungle). Although Moyobamba is the capital of the region, Tarapoto is the region's largest city and is linked to the Upper Amazon and the historic city of Yurimaguas by a relatively well-maintained transandean highway, paved in 2008–9.
Tarapoto is approximately 356 metres (1,168 ft) above sea level on the high jungle plateau, also called the cloud forest. It was founded in 1782 by Baltasar Jaime Martínez Compañón. According to the 2017 census Tarapoto has a population of 180,073 within the city limits, and over 200,000 inhabitants including the outlying Morales and Banda de Shilcayo districts, which makes it the most populated city in the department and the third largest and most populated Amazonian city after Pucallpa and Iquitos, Tarapoto is older than these cities, in addition to having better services, paved roads, luxury hotels and comforts in the heart of the Amazon.
Tarapoto is often used by tourists and local visitors as a base for excursions into the vast Amazon rainforest. The region's main activities are tourism, commerce, agriculture, and an illicit "shadow economy" that includes production of coca leaves, lately in decline, extraction of lumber, and trading in land concessions.
Tarapoto is home to the Universidad Nacional de San Martín, an important center of higher education serving the professional and technical needs of a region of high biodiversity. With its active nightlife, Tarapoto offers a wide variety of hotels and restaurants in and around the city. Moreover, the area's beautiful landscapes, waterfalls and lagoons form a tempting location for adventure tourism, such as river rafting and hiking in the tropical Andes, and attract numerous visitors to the "City of Palms".
The City of Palm Trees, concentrates a large part of the tourist and commercial activity in the region, being the third most sought after and visited city by Peruvians, after Lima and Cusco; It is surrounded to the north by the regional conservation area of the Cordillera Escalera within the South American tropical rainforest and to the south by a fertile valley with crops of rice, corn, coffee, cocoa, tobacco and various agricultural products, with seasonally dry forests.
The city is a nerve center of agricultural products, the surroundings concentrate a wide endemic biodiversity, originating from the last foothills of the eastern Andes, these give rise to an enormous botanical and biological wealth, of an incredible variety of amphibian and bird species. ideal for birdwatching, in addition to a large number of waterfalls, this gave rise to the growth of ecotourism, mainly since the mid-1990s.
Currently, the Amazonian metropolis has several hypermarket chains, with all kinds of services, multiplexes, first-class hospitals, high-speed internet, hotel services, luxury resorts, hotels of all categories; The land connection in the mid-1960s brought with it enormous economic and demographic growth to the city, as a result of the construction and paving of access roads, from the capital city, Lima, connecting to the central highway in the central highlands and /or with the Fernando Belaunde Terry highway through Pasco and Huanuco; and in the north interconnected to the cities of Bagua, Chachapoyas, Chiclayo, Piura and Trujillo, and with proximity to the largest port in northern Peru, the port of Paita on the Pacific Ocean and the port of Salaverry in La Libertad, in addition to a connection to Brazil through the river port of Yurimaguas, just 3 hours away by road, and its exit to the Atlantic through the Huallaga River, a tributary of the Marañón River and this of the Amazon River.
Tarapoto travel guide
Understand
Tarapoto sits in the valley where the two rivers, the Cumbaza and Shilcayo, meet. Bordered by the cities of Morales (on the west) and Banda de Shilcayo (on the east) Tarapoto is the commercial center of the District and one of the larger metropolitan centers in the Amazon Rainforest. While Tarapoto is sometimes overlooked by tourists heading to Iquitos, visitors will find that because of its cloud forest location at an altitude over 350 meters, the temperatures won't get as hot, usually not above 95 °F (35 °C), and perhaps more importantly, the humidity is not generally as high as the low jungle. Many day trips within a half-hour to a two-hour drive from Tarapoto include some of the most spectacular natural beauty anywhere, historic wonders, and some of the places have cooler weather than in the city. There are scenic outlooks, waterfalls, lakes, rivers, fauna and flora of all sorts, and some of the most interesting people in the world live in this area. Tarapoto has many restaurants, hotels, Internet cafes, markets, and other attractions that would interest tourists from all walks of life. With a rich cultural heritage and many historic landmarks nearby, it is a great place for people who want something more than just a hammock and a tropical drink -- although the latter can be found readily as well. Few businesses have air conditioning. There are several hotels that have air conditioning, but many do not so it is important to ask. Another thing travellers should be sure to ask about before checking into a hotel -- unless they don't mind a cold shower -- is if the room has hot water; many do not. In most neighborhoods, there is no running water during the early afternoon and early morning, so it is also wise to ask about the hours of availability of water -- although many hotels and restaurants have their own holding tanks for water which makes it no problem. One of the things that makes Tarapoto attractive to travelers who have discovered this city is the fact that it is a great central location in the northern part of Peru. The mountains (high sierra) to the west, and the jungle (selva) to the east, make Tarapoto a good place to call home-base when visiting northern Peru. A modern airport makes travel to the major cities fairly easy, if only somewhat dependable, with daily flights to and from Lima. In many ways, Tarapoto still has a "small town" atmosphere. While it is always necessary to keep alert when traveling anywhere, Tarapoto is a place one can relax more. Europeans and North Americans are not targets of crime as much as in the other
Getting there
By plane 1 Cadete FAP Guillermo del Castillo Paredes Airport (TPP IATA), Av. Aviacion S/N (4 km southwest of town via Jr Jorge Chavez). This serves as the main airport of the San Martín Region, located in the Amazon, and is used by many tourists as a jumping-off point for trips into the jungle. It is served by the following airlines: Latam (Lima, Tumbes) JetSmart (Lima) Sky Peru (Lima) Star Peru (Lima, Chiclayo, Iquitos) Saeta Peru serves as the regional airline with propeller driven aircraft to/from Chachapoyas, Pucallpa, Iquitos, Rodriguez de Mendoza, and Yurimaguas. Upon exiting the airport, there will be several mototaxis and a few cars waiting to win your fare to town. Many mototaxi drivers may try to bring you somewhere other than where you requested to go because they earn commission. Communicate with your lodging before you arrive to get an idea of how long the ride should take or to arrange a private airport pick-up. Some hotels include airport pick-up in the room price
By bus There are also bus services from Lima, which roughly take 24 hours via Trujillo & Chiclayo to Tarapoto.
By car
Getting around
A mototaxi looks like a rickshaw with a motorcycle welded onto the front of it and is the most common form of transportation in Tarapoto. Automobile taxis are also available in lesser numbers. Whether using a taxi or mototaxi, tourists should always negotiate the price of the trip before getting into the vehicle, or they might find themselves paying far more than necessary for the ride. Mototaxi drivers are sometimes reckless, so tourists should not hesitate to tell the driver to slow down if necessary.
See
Cataratas de Ahuashiyacu : Not really worth the money (the taxi, not the S/3 entrance fee). A nice waterfall but the pond is tiny and if you want to swim you have to squeeze through hordes of Peruvians. Cataratas de Huacamaillo: You can hire a mototaxi from town to the trailhead of this waterfall which dumps into fast flowing river. A guide is recommended to find the waterfalls, which requires multiple crossings of the river, bring a few extra soles to pay the approx. S/3 entrance fee at a booth located less than halfway down the trail. The trail climbs and hugs dripping eroding cliff and so is quite treacherous, not recommended if you are not surefooted. However, it is a great option for someone looking to do a day hike in the rainforest for cheap. Reserva Alto Chiclayo: Hire a mototaxi to the end of the road(past the animal rescue center) to this preserve containing the Rio Chiclayo. Entry with a guide (required) is approx. S/80. Guides help you across a few river crossings, and can help spot wildlife such as the local poison frogs. Petroglyphs of Polish
Do
Wayra Sacha (1h walking above Tarapoto or 15min by car then 30min walking), ☏ +51 42-52 2261, +51 42 942 90 32 57 (Stephanie Gallusser), +51 42 942 486026 (Cesar Ramírez), [email protected]. It is an organic "chacra", local term for a farm in the forest where you can go for a walk, stay overnight or longer if you want to be a volunteer. It has a large area of natural forest and borders the conservation area of the Cordillera Escalera, and it is a good place to see local wildlife by day or by night. The owners, Cesar and Stephanie are very welcoming. They are biologists and know very well the local flora and fauna, they can show you butterflies, birds, frogs, medicinal plants, natives fruits, etc. Very nice walks are available in the surroundings to go deeper in the forest or to reach waterfalls nicer than the ones you can access from the road. To get there, it is better to contact them first so that they can organise your stay or carry your stuff for the night on moto. Prices are reasonable, and depend on what you want (night, meals, guided tour). Don't expect to be hosted in a four-star bedroom but you will enjoy wild night sounds! Go to the new movie-theater of Tarapoto. A new one has just open (Jr Alfonso Ugarte). If it is raining too much and you want to watch movies in Spanish, enjoy! Visit the Tabacalera del Oriente cigar "factory" in town Walk along the Shilcayo River Take the "takiwasi" road along the Shilcayo for 2-3 km, then it becomes a small path which goes far into the forest following the river and it is a nice walk. If you have children, they might be interested in visiting Urku (on the left, about 2 km from Tarapoto), where they have monkeys and other animals rescued from captivity.
Eat
1 VIDAX Restaurante, Jr. Nicolas de Pierola 135, ☏ +51 921 377 187. Nice Peruvian and vegetarian options, buffet only 10 Soles. (updated Sep 2020)
Drink & nightlife
There are many discos in the Morales district. Highlights include Anaconda, Aqua and Bunker.It can be closed at the beginning of the week, but it is open and generally free from Thursday to Sunday. In the street in front of the restaurant Patarashca, about two blocks from the Plaza de Armas (in the direction of the artesanal market), they are bars with drinks and music at night. Calle Bolognesi or Calle Lamas. The musmuki bar is a good address to try some cocktails from the jungle (about one block from the Plaza de Armas, when you left on the Scotiabank side in Calle Moyobamba).
Sleep
A reasonable place to stay in the centre of Tarapoto is the La Posada Inn, 50 m from the Plaza on Jiron San Martin. It is quieter than some hotels there and has wifi, hot and cold water and a good restaurant. Or go to Lamas and stay in the relaxed and laid-back hotel Hospedeja de la Sangpilla (30 minutes by shared taxi from Tarapoto) S/60 double, with swimming pool and breakfast.
Albergue El Achual, Prolongacion Alerta cdra. 2 (next to Takiwasi on the Shilcayo River; a 10-15 minute walk uphill from the main square). features a comfortable common area and has a pleasant staff. However, the property is rundown. Rooms can be musty. Kitchen and refrigerator need a thorough sanitizing. S/. 20-45 per person. (updated Aug 2018) 1 Centrika Tarapoto, Jr. Manuela Morey #233, ☏ +51 935 005 550. Has wifi and a/c and a light complimentary breakfast. Clean quarters. S/.89. (updated Sep 2020) 2 Hotel La Patarashca, Jr. San Pablo de la Cruz 362, ☏ +51 42 527554. Has the makings of a nice jungle lodge (only it's in the city). The banana tree type foliage all around the swimming pool is pretty sanguine. Here you'll find a restaurant and bar, wifi and ceiling fans, and a free breakfast buffet in the morning too. S/.150. (updated Sep 2020)
Go next
Moyobamba - the capital of the region. Bus ride takes about 2 hours from Tarapoto. Sauce - relaxing lakeside town 1½ hours away from Tarapoto around the Laguna Azul. Juanjui - To the south. Lamas - north-west (small town) Yurimaguas - The doors to the Amazon. You can get there in 2½ hr on a good road.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.