Information about the city Tarapoto
Tarapoto is a commercial hub town in the San Martín Province of the San Martín Region or 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.[3] It was founded in 1782 by Baltazar Martínez Jiménez de Compagnon. According to the 2007 census Tarapoto has a population of 63,484 within the city limits, and over 117,184 inhabitants including the outlying Morales and Banda de Shilcayo districts.
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, 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".
Tarapoto is one hour by air from Lima and is served by the Cad. FAP Guillermo del Castillo Paredes Airport. This airport is the third-most important in Peru in flow of passengers and cargo. It operates flights to and from Lima on a daily basis, as well as being a stopover to other cities, such as Iquitos and Pucallpa, from Lima.
Lima can be reached by bus in approximately 28 hours. The route runs through Moyobamba and Pedro Ruiz before passing through the coastal city of Chiclayo.
Taxis and motorized rickshaws are frequently used as an inexpensive mode of transportation throughout Tarapoto. Due to the types of the engines used in many taxis, main intersections in Tarapoto are extremely noisy, especially at times of busy traffic. However recently there has been an attempt to certify rickshaws that abide by noise pollution standards.
Information about the city Ferrenafe
Ferreñafe was founded on December 13, 1550 by captain Alonso de Osorio. Before the arrival of the Spanish, an early civilization lived in the area, The Sican. The Sican culture existed long before the Incas, and adopted themselves to the geography of Ferreñafe. The Sican built pyramids and buried their family lineage in forms that attract scholars from different fields of study. Sican National Museum is the main centre of interpretation to understand the culture, philosophy, architecture, life style, and hierarchy structure of the Sican.
Through the years, Ferreñafanos have learned to preserve its customs and values. Until these days, its populations strongly preserves its beliefs in Catholicism, and Shamanism as well, naming Ferreñafe the city of "the double faith".
The Sican, the Incas, The Spanish, and more recently Chinese, Japanese, among other immigration groups, have brought development in many domains, one of them Gastronomy, known as Peruvian cuisine. Years of history, have brought along a developed taste for food and its ingredients. In fact, some ingredients are native from Ferreñafe as are portrayed in the pottery by early pre-Columbus civilization, the Sican. Ingredients such as Loche, Lucuma, among others.
There exists a cotton that grows in several different natural colours, and is originally from Ferreñafe, named "algodon nativo".
Textiles are also produced by locals in the small towns nearby the Andes.
The town has potential for agrotourism and adventure tourism, while enjoying the night life during the weekends. Birdwatching is a growing activity that can be widely practiced in the surrounding area.
In recent years, the tourism industry has occupied an important role in its economy, that was until few years ago based only in agriculture. Few hotels are available, and there is still lack of proper training for the human resources of the tourism industry.
