Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm

A visit to the fascinating Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm is highly recommended. Ostensibly this is a conservatorium and breeding center for Amazonian butterflies. Butterflies aplenty there certainly are, including the striking blue morpho (Morpho menelaus) and the fearsome-looking owl butterfly (Caligo eurilochus), which has a big owl-like eye on its wing. But it’s the farm’s exotic animals that steal the show. Raised as orphans and protected within the property are several mischievous monkeys, Lolita the tapir and Pedro Bello, a majestic orphaned jaguar, who has his own enclosure. You’ll also meet capricious Rosa, a giant anteater who wanders around freely looking for ants. To get there, take a small boat from Bellavista-Nanay, a small port 2km north of Iquitos, to the village of Padre Cocha. Boats run all day. The farm is signposted and is a 15-minute walk through the village from the Padre Cocha boat dock.