Written by:
peru.travel
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
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One of the places that you definitely have to visit on your trip to Iquitos is the Isla de los monos (Monkeys Island). It is a rescue center located 30 km from Iquitos, where the only thing you can breathe is vegetation and freedom. Here you will spend fun and unforgettable moments in the company of many little monkeys that live temporarily in this place. A primate paradise where you will feel like a child playing and taking photos with these cute animals.
Unlike zoos, this refuge is intended to assist and care for primates in a state of vulnerability. Once recovered, they are reinserted into their natural habitat. If you are an animal lover and want to play an active role in the protection of wildlife, Isla de los monos offers the possibility of volunteering, having as the only requirement the desire to help.
Unlike zoos, the purpose of this shelter is to provide assistance and care for primates. Credit: Carlos Ibarra / PromPerú.
An outdoor animal shelter
This wonderful place was created 20 years ago thanks to Don Gilberto Guerra Reátegui, a generous dweller who, knowing the constant danger of illegal traffic to which the monkeys were exposed, had the initiative to build a shelter on his property that would allow them to live in freedom.
Aníbal Flores, one of the keepers, tells the RPP portal that the first years served to adapt the 450 hectares of the area as a natural habitat for monkeys. Trees were planted to provide green areas and the search and rescue process began. During the following years, the island began to be populated with different species of primates, among which it is possible to find monos choros, tocónes, titíes, maquisapas and spiders.
To visit the refuge, you must move from the center of the city of Iquitos to the port of Nanay, a meeting point for boats, locally called "peque-peques", that go to different parts of the Amazon River. From there, you have to embark in the direction of the island. During the 30-minute journey, it is possible to observe pink dolphins and macaws. When disembarking, you must pay an entrance ticket whose cost is 30 soles for foreigners and 20 soles for Peruvians.
The money collected is invested in food, vitamins, medicine -for the monkeys- and maintenance of the shelter.
This wonderful place was created 20 years ago by Mr. Gilberto Guerra Reátegui. Credit: Carlos Ibarra / PromPerú.
Mutual affection
Once inside, the staff will welcome you very kindly. A guide will take you to the forest where the monkeys spend the day so you can interact with them. Do not be scared if from one moment to another they start to climb on top of you. That means they are comfortable with you and the fun has begun. Play with them, take photos and, above all, give them lots of love.
We recommend not carry objects like glasses, necklaces, earrings, headbands or hair clips, because monkeys are very hyperactive and like to entertain themselves with your belongings. Just have your camera and cell phone. On the other hand, it is not allowed to feed them because they have a special diet based on seeds, fruits and vitamins.
If you are in Iquitos, visit the Island of the monkeys, where you will spend a special moment with these lovely animals that find a second chance to go with a family of their kind and be happy again.
Sources: RPP / AméricaTV / Wapa
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