Belen Market Food Tour in Iquitos
A Belen Market food tour is an essential part of visiting Iquitos, Peru. You can book online with local guide, Marlon, and you’ll have a fantastic experience. Usually, we don’t do many local tours—we typically enjoy exploring places on our own. However, Belen Market can get a little crazy, and it’s known for pickpocketing, especially jewelry and cell phones. So, going with a local guide to capture the experience and feel calm was, I thought a must. Because we were on a tour, I was able to take so, so, so many photos that otherwise I wouldn’t have.
I had a fantastic time. I was basically crying at the end because of how moving the tour was overall.
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The Basics of the Belen Market Food Tour
The tour was just $50 per person and was eye-opening.
- Book online on Viator, like I did
- 8am-11am
- Food tastings included (bring cash if you want larger meals)
- Transport from your accommodation included
- Highly recommended to go with a guide to avoid getting robbed—tourists are definitely targeted for cell phones
Thanks, Marlon, for a great tour (and hi to his daughter!)
Safety in Belen Market
I highly recommend going on a tour rather than going by yourself unless you are not carrying anything with you. Our guide, Marlon, told us that there are specific streets where people look out for tourists and target them. For me, I really wanted to take a lot of photos and videos, not just to capture this experience for myself, but also to share it here on the blog. So for me, this made a big difference. Marlon knows all the vendors and it felt like a very calm experience because he was with us.
I did not bring a camera and just had my cell phone to take pictures. You don’t need any cash except to tip your guide at the end.
Belen Market Food Tour
We started the food tour around 8am. We were picked up in a tuk-tuk and headed over to the market. The market was already lively. People were already out and about—selling things, moving things, eating food…
Food and Drinks
We found and bought some camu camu, which is my new favorite fruit. It’s got a tart, unique flavor that’s hard to explain. You can also try it as juice in Iquitos restaurants.
We also drank this dark beer foam drink. It was sweet and delicious, kinda like an eggnog vibe.
We saw Heart of Palm in long strips—this is served at restaurants around town and is called “jungle noodles.” For breakfast, many locals grab a banana leaf filled with rice and a piece of chicken. There are also buffet-style setups around.
We tried “jungle candy”, a super sweet fruit.
There’s also a freshly caught fish section with lots of interesting fish, including a prehistoric-looking one that honestly looked like it should be extinct.
We tried this dinosaur-looking fruit with a huge seed. Although we ate it (kinda), it’s actually best used for juice.
Illegal foods
The first illegal food we saw was the Suri worm. People eat it barbecued or fried, and they are illegal to eat because we have to cut down a whole tree to harvest them. They were alive and moving in this photo. Check out my Instagram if you want to see it live eek..
We tried the Suri worms barbecued and wow—it was an unpleasant but unique experience. I recommend it because when else are you going to eat this again? Ekk though, it was gross and chewy. Eating the head is considered very brave because it has a super strong taste. I tried to take just a small bite and oh my god.
Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. This was wild
Another illegal animal for sale was wild boar—we saw several of them.
Then we saw a small alligator species called caiman, which we saw a lot of during our Amazon jungle tour.
Although we were able to take pictures of most everything with our guide, one we were not allowed to was the turtle meat. That was a little disturbing to see and there was only one stall. Eating turtle eggs is also very common—we were offered some but declined. Our guide says he doesn’t really like the taste, but many locals still search for turtle eggs on the beach for consumption.
Suri worms and turtle eggs for sale
Local Consumers
Just a reminder—all of the items in Belen Market are meant for local consumption, not directed at the tourist market. I think that’s important to keep in mind, which is part of why regulations aren’t enforced strictly.
As we kept hearing on our Amazon Jungle tour: “Locals will eat anything” and “Jungle people will eat anything to stay alive.” It makes sense, even though of course there are now modern alternatives. But people who have moved from the jungle still consider these items part of their traditional culture.
Medicines and Herbal Remedies
We also saw the “shaman market” section of Belen Market. There’s literally a cure for anything you can think of—to find love, to get rid of love, to get a new job, to quit your job… everything.
We saw ayahuasca roots for sale. Ayahuasca itself is a vine, and on its own doesn’t cause that out-of-body experience. But combined with another plant substance (the name of which I’ve forgotten), it becomes a hallucinogenic drug. You can buy ayahuasca easily in powder form and your guide will take you to the best shop for purchasing if you’re interested.
There’s pure tobacco for sale too—rolled constantly in rows all around the market. We tried a puff, but smoking wasn’t for us, so Marlon had to finish it.
Boat Tour of Belen Market
In the wet season, the lower part of the market will be underwater, and your tour will continue via boat. However, as we visited in the dry season, we went on a boat ride along the river to see the community.
On the boat ride we got insights about the people who live along the banks. It was in stark contrast to what we’d seen around our Airbnb and the town squares. Those areas seemed like middle-income living for the most part, but as you move closer to Belen Market, the poverty becomes extremely pronounced.
People can move into town from the jungle and easily get a “permit” to construct their own stilted house to live in while they try to find work. So, the housing area is extremely unregulated and chaotic.
Our guide used to live here, but he’s since built a house in town. However, we met his sister-in-law who still lives in his old, stilted house, which he’s working on improving.
I was depressed on this boat tour, especially because my real job relates to water and sanitation services. I saw a lot of open defecation toilets hanging straight over the river. Then, just downstream, a couple washing their clothes or kids taking a bath. It’s obviously really sad and unfortunate for human health and the environment.
Still, it was very important to see what real people are experiencing, and not just stay in a bubble in Iquitos.
Marlon shared a lot of sad stories about the people living in these areas. He also organizes donations and fundraisers to give people school supplies, Christmas gifts, and help rebuild homes after fires or other devastating events.
Illegal Activity in the Jungle
There were a lot of illegal items and wild animals on display, either as elixirs or for consumption. Our guide explained that much of this illegal activity happens because locals want wild animals for food or traditional remedies. The main illegal items marketed toward tourists are snakeskins and crocodile skins, but everything else is primarily for locals. Don’t buy these items as they will be taken away from you either in Iquitos or at your home airport. You will be fined.
The local and cultural element is part of why it’s so difficult to police. Even though there is a noticeable police presence around the market, enforcement of laws around the sale of illegal animal products is practically nonexistent.
Final Thoughts on the Belen Market Tour
I truly can’t recommend the Belen Market food tour enough—it’s an unforgettable way to experience the real Iquitos. Even if you only have one day in the city, make time for this tour. Book here. It’s absolutely worth it. We were able to go on the tour in the morning and then visit the Pilpintuwasi Wildlife Center in the afternoon.
We visited Iquitos after our 6-day Amazon Jungle Tour, read all about it!