Iquitos is a city that was built by Spanish colonists in 1757. In the middle of the 19th century, there was a rubber boom: wealthy citizens started building beautiful houses, hotels and upgrading the city with parks. This is how an area which is now called the Old City appeared there. It symbolizes the wealth of the rubber barons and the triumph of European style and luxury.

However, at that time, there was, and remains, another place in Iquitos, called Belen. You can come there to see how ordinary, not-so-rich, people lived and still live today. Belen is often called the Peruvian Venice. But this neighborhood has only one thing in common with the Italian city: both have buildings on the water.

Belen is the most populated district in the city. And the most popular one among tourists, because many countries have rich mansions, but exotic houses on piles are found only in a few cities in the world.

Belen can be divided into two parts. In one of them, the houses stand on high piles: when the Itaya River overflows, locals get to the buildings by boats, and at low tide, they go to their house by stairs and use the first floor to dry food. The other part hosts houses on rafts, which move along the river freely at high tide and stay at the sandbank during droughts.

There are countless bridges between the houses: some are stationary, and some float together with the houses for the convenience of those who live in them. This approach to the use of the space makes it difficult to move on a canoe: there are no strict rules. So sometimes, if there was a free passage yesterday, today the spot may be occupied by a bridge because one of the houses «swam» to a more convenient place.

It is better to visit this neighborhood with local guides. Firstly, they know all the open passages and can show you the most beautiful and unusual views of houses and bridges. Secondly, locals do not like tourists who are actively photographing their lives. But having a guide with you is a kind of permission to take photos of all the places you want.