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 Puerto Maldonado
Puerto Maldonado is a city in southeastern Peru in the Amazon rainforest 55 kilometres (34 mi) west of the Bolivian border; located at the confluence of the Tambopata and Madre de Dios rivers, the latter of which joins the Madeira River as a tributary of the Amazon. It is the capital of the Madre de Dios Region.
Nearby are the Manú National Park, Tambopata National Reserve, and Bahuaja-Sonene National Park, which have been established to protect natural resources. These are some of the most pristine primary rain forests in the world. They include several oxbow lakes and clay licks, where hundreds of birds, including macaws, feed on clay.
Puerto Maldonado is in the tropical Amazon Basin. The climate is hot and humid at all times. The average annual temperature is 26 °C (79 °F) with the months of August and September being the hottest. Annual rainfall exceeds 1,000 millimetres (3.3 ft). The wet season is from October to April. The main part of the town is located on a slightly elevated area that does not normally flood in the wet season. Road travel often becomes impossible during this time. A low season occurs between June and August.
The chief industries in Puerto Maldonado are logging, artisanal small-scale gold mining,[8] Brazil nut collecting, boat building and eco-tourism. The area is virtually logged out; only one mill remains. The area was exploited for rubber in the late 19th-century and early 20th-century rubber boom, but South American production was undercut by the industry developed in southeast Asia. Rubber collection has long since ended.
At least 30,000 gold miners are active in the region around Puerto Maldonado.[8] Legislation in the European Union in the 21st century resulted in putting hundreds of Brazil nut collectors out of work, together with the crew of the associated local factory, as it raised tariffs against the product.
Tourism and related boat construction are currently the major sources of income in the economy. There are several tourist eco-lodges around Puerto Maldonado and in the reserves.
