Pilpintuwasi — Attraction in Iquitos

An easy 20 minute destination by boat from Bellavista-Nanay port of Iquitos is the village of Padre Coche. The sanctuary has got to be one of the best attractions and is on the outskirts of the village. Well known by the tuk-tuk drivers it will take about 5 minutes to reach but I enjoyed the walk there from my lodging & it is easy to find on your own if preferred. From the road, a forested path leads to the gated tunnel enclosure. I made no booking and was met by the owner Gudrun who welcomed me & explained that a volunteer would guide me, as she needed to take a hurt monkey to the vet. The venue has a very natural rustic appeal with a nicely laid out butterfly enclosure, through which I was lead by a pleasant English speaking volunteer, who explained the breeding program of the butterfly species natural to the area. The highlight for many people will likely be the animal enclosures, with a number of different monkeys, a giant ant-eater as well as Ocelot and Jaguar and small variety of birds and other rescued animals. The animals are in good condition notwithstanding the traumatised backgrounds they experienced in the past. Run by the very dedicated expat owner and her team for many years, this sanctuary and its volunteer assistants, are a blessing to the area and deserve strong support from the public. I took a public river-taxi & at the time of writing was only Sol 3/- or if preferred a private boat taxi will hit you for Sol 20/- each way. A must visit if in Iquitos as the trip out there is itself an interesting experience and the sanctuary worthy of support as well as being a great way to spend...

This was a great little diversion while killing time in Iquitos. The place is quite small, but it certainly appears to be providing a good service for the animals in the area.

I was walked around the park with a volunteer who spoke enthusiastically about the efforts made to rehabilitate the animals and butterflies. The local trouble maker monkey provided a few jump scares on me too, which was fun.

I took a boat from Puerto de Nanay (20-30 soles for private boat). A tuk-tuk to get to the port cost 8 soles, and a tuk-tuk to get to the park cost 5-6 soles. You can definitely walk through Padre Cocha to get there, but will need to follow a map. 5 soles was a steal.

Entry into the park itself is 30 soles. There will be a light push to purchase trinkets or make a donation but this isn't intrusive or unreasonable.

The whole exercise took me 2.5 hours door to door. You can add a couple more stops along the river at other places but many local attractions around animals are unethical/cruel so be careful.

Definitely worth a visit, the Ocelots alone were worth the price...

Excellent place that I visited with my family. The lady who runs it has great knowledge and passion for the animals. It started off as a butterfly farm but has grown into an animal sanctuary for rescued animals that can’t be released back into the wild for various reasons. She also works to educate people on how to protect the beautiful and varied species of the Amazon instead of exploiting them. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit here and would recommend this to anyone visiting the area. You walk in an enclosure to keep you away from the animals so they are more free to roam. They encourage natural behaviour of the animals and less human interaction which is best for them. A genuine rescue centre and not just built for tourists or to make money. The people here are genuine and put the animals in their care above...