Iquitos to Leticia

Hey

I am currently in Peru, and at the end of this month i would like to cross the border to Colombia.
One of the ways to do this is by boat from Iquitos on the Amazon to Leticia in Colombia.

I just wanted to ask if anyone has experience with this route?

Is it safe for a gringo looking type?
Is it a good idea in the rainy season?
Are there different kinds of boats you can take?
What about travelling on from Leticia to one of the cities in Colombia?
And is the only way to get to Iquitos flying from Lima?

Or are there other safe options to cross the Peru-Colombian border?

Cheers

Kalle
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Hi

Having read the post from Paul I think we may have been a little naive a few years ago - Oct 2006

We travelled from Iquitos to Leticia by speed boat - Mud Wrestling in Colombia

From memory it was about 10 hours - and pretty interesting - just to see the scale of the amazon!

We were the per chance on the same boat as another English couple but other than that the remainder of the passengers appeared to be local.

We were very apprehensive about going into Colombia but whether or not we were correctly advised when enquiring locally i do not know!

On arrival at Leticia we were met by a friendly tout who took us to a good hotel - with a pool and arranged our onward travel via plane to Bogota.

We spent a day in leticia doing very little other than relaxing at the pool. I did notice soldiers on the streets patrolling but there wasn't any air of danger within the town and everyone was very friendly to us.

we ate at a great restuarant and the next morning flew out trouble free to the capital! I think you have to fly out of leticia so the journey might not be worth it - and if you want to experience the amazon you can do this from iquitos and then travel overland through a more conventional route - or take the flight from leticia

This and the rest of Colombia was a great experience and one of my favourite visited countries.

Despite the above from me please seek local advice and pay heed to the post above as this would appear more up to date and informed! Reply to this

On the highway between Leticia to Bogota you pass through the "zona" ( shire ) of Caguan , near San Vicente del Caguan. This is the area the Colombian government gave to FARC in 1999 to try and stop the terrorism, FARC always wanted an independant country. This backfired as in these times FARC was a reasonably small organisation but having a base meant they could grow and spread through Colombia. In 2002 Presdent Pastrana took back this area,after failed peace talks, but by this time FARC was well established and had become very adept at "narcotrafico, secuestros y terrorismo"-"drug trafficing, kidnapping and terrorism".
Please forgive me if my dates are incorrect and it is possible President Uribe was the one to dismantle the FARC safe haven. I just want Kalie to understand that even though Colombia is one of the friendliest happiest countries on earth it is still a country in civil war.
If you still have doubts then please Google "Ingrid Betancourt". Her kidnapping was one of the most famous. She spent many years as a captive of FARC. She is now attempting to sue the Colombian Government but she was told not to go to this area and chose to ignore the warnings.
I may sound anti-colombia but nothing could be further from the truth. I LOVE COLOMBIA. My Colombian wife and I own a flat in Bogota and we plan for our children to be as much Colombian as Australian Reply to this

Thanks for the reply's,

I will certainly not travel over land from Leticia to Bogota. If I do this Iquitos - Leticia boattrip, I will fly from Leticia.
But I don't know if I am going to do it yet, just read something about a dengue outbreak in Iquitos, maybe not the best time to go then. Maybe fly from Lima then. I want to leave Equador for later, because I have to be there end of March.

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We also did the trip from Yurimaguas through Iquitos to Brazil (we di not get into Leticia, but it is the same - the boat trip from Iquitos stops in the border town on the Peruvian side and then you take small speed boat for 15 minutes either to Brazil or Colombia ...).
It was safe and we had no problems though we are Gringos and we were a family with 3 small kids!
From Yurimaguas we took a smaller boat to Lagunas and not with the Eduardo, but from Lagunas we did go with Eduardo to Iquitos.
Note that you have to have your own Hammock and plate and tools for eating. It is possible to buy a Hammock in Yurimaguas but make sure you buy it in the market in town rather than in the port or on board the boat.
The speed boat from Yurimaguas to the border / leticia which indeed traveles for only 10 hours is mucu more expensive than the "regular" boat taking 3 days. If you have the time and not the budget, I believe the slow option is better as you also get much more of the feeling of the amazon and being rural. The boats have on their first level a lot of goods, cars and also stock travelling with you...
Note that the boats from Iquitos do not leave on Sunday. Reply to this

Hellos I know this guys in Iquitos : <snip> and this other in Leticia : <snip>

best regards

nice trip 😊
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Beside RAPIDO you can use a Peruvian military plane from Iquitos to Caballococha $80 then from there to Leticia by taxi boat one hour... Reply to this