Amazon Rescue Center - Manatees Conservation Center Admission Ticket

Great rescue that does important work. The biggest annoyance is the 45 min drive from Iquitos. We paid our mototaxi driver 80 Sols to drive us there, wait the 1.5 hour and return us to downtown Iquitos. We did not have issues like other reviewers with paying but we were clear that we’d pay once we returned to Iquitos. There was a large group of mototaxi’s waiting at the entrance but we were very thankful to have the return trip pre-arranged and pre-negotiated and not have to bargain our way back to the city. Beware the Centre’s sign is tiny and not easily visible from the road. Despite having it on our phone’s map, we didn’t see the center from the road. Our mototaxi drove past it and then had to double-back and asked for directions multiple times before we found it. It’s exactly where Google Maps has it marked but the entrance might be obscured from the trees and many mototaxis parked in front. Whether you get a private guide or are in a big group depends on the timing of your arrival. Go early or towards the end of day if you want to increase your chances of being in a small group. We ended up being lumped in with a large group of over 20 Spanish speakers. As the only English speakers the tour was predominantly in Spanish with only a little English thrown in for our benefit. The guides we met did speak excellent English and were very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. So it would be a much better experience if you are lucky enough to get a private tour. We weren’t sure how many animals there would be but there were sadly lots of animals that needed rehabilitating on our visit in March 2026. We saw 3 baby manatees, multiple caiman, dozens of turtles, an adult capybara, a peccary, 2 giant otters, 2 baby monkeys and hundreds of parrots and macaws. We felt the facilities were clean and appropriately outfitted given their goal is to release animals back into the wild as soon as possible. They were upfront about which animals are too injured to be released and I noticed those animals were in larger enclosures. They were clear on their no-touch rule which makes sense to improve each animal's chances to be re-wilded. I think the comments from visitors who felt the cages were small or dirty, don’t appreciate the scale of the work that this center does. We were happy to support this center and would recommend it to any animal lovers.

It was a great experience. We had a private English tour with Jessica who was very knowledgeable and very friendly. We saw and learned about manatees, birds, fish and the rescue and release efforts of the centre. Highly recommend a tour if you’re in Iquitos.

We got to see lots of animals being well taken care of. Even had an English speaking guide to explain the things they are doing for the animals and community. Definitely worth to learn and see what they are doing.

The tour was interesting, lots of information. There's another shorter tour in the forest. It's not clear why they pay more. Overall nice, quite away from the city 45 minutes by taxi.

What an amazing facility if your in the area itis a MUST to see. The passion and dedication of the staff and vounlenteers was undeniable. I was in awe watching baby manatee be bottle feed. And impressed with the process and length of time it takes to release a manatee, parrot, turtle or any other animal they had in their facility back into there natural habit. In this case would be a National Park.

My children loved the whole tour.. carry water and cap... my 2-year-old girl enjoyed the whole tour, loved the animals and my 10-year-old son threw himself off the zip line

This “Rescue Center” is nothing more than a zoo where the animals are displayed. The animals , e.g. monkeys, agutis, parrots, sloths, capibaras, etc. are housed in enclosures and cages that are too small. The only positive thing about it is that they look very well maintained, yet they are mini prisons! Right away, a baby manatee is shown doing their rounds permanently in a pool about 3 meters in diameter. When I started asking the staff questions, e.g. why the animals are housed in such small cages, I was immediately interrupted loudly and it became clear very quickly that unpleasant questions are not welcome. Right at the beginning of the tour we were also advised that you cannot touch the animals, which I also very much support. In the next sentence, however, it was immediately stated that one may gladly touch and feed the animals if one works here as a volunteer. But it's been going on here for a few hours. Which I would also call very questionable!

Such a good and interesting place to visit while in Iquitos. Very informative and accessible outside Iquitos. Your visit supports the project. It is better if you go with a tour guide so you can also visit other places on the way.

After our Amazon River cruise on the way back to Iquitos, the tour stopped by the Manatee Rescue Center. The center works on rehabilitating manatees and other Amazonian animals back to the wild. For animals that cannot be rehabilitated, the center will take care of them or release them to the preserve nearby. Our guide there was very warm and polite to us. He was informative and told us how the center worked and how it was founded. He is very dedicated to preserving the rainforest and hopes that we learn how to do our part.

It was nice to take a walk through part of the Amazon and learn about the program to save Manatees. I also liked seeing the white sandy piece of jungle.