Moyobamba

Moyobamba was founded in 1540, the first Spanish town in the Peruvian Amazon, and it sits on a bluff above the Mayo river at about 860 metres, with the Alto Mayo cloud forest above it. It calls itself the city of orchids and has grounds for the claim: several thousand species are recorded in the region and orchid gardens in and around the city - Waqanki, the Orquideario Municipal and others - grow and display them, with an orchid festival each November. There are thermal baths at San Mateo, viewpoints over the Mayo valley from the Punta de Tahuishco and Punta de San Juan, and Waqanki's hummingbird feeders draw a dozen species. The city itself is unremarkable and was damaged by earthquakes in 1990 and 1991. It sits between the Alto Mayo forest, the Morro de Calzada and the Tingana wetlands, which is what makes it worth basing in.

What you actually see

• The orchids - gardens and collections drawing on several thousand regional species.
• The thermal baths - the San Mateo springs on the edge of the city.
• The viewpoints - Tahuishco and San Juan above the Mayo valley.
• The 1540 foundation - the oldest Spanish town in the Peruvian Amazon.

When to go

May to September is drier. November brings the orchid festival. Two to three days as a base for the Alto Mayo, Tingana and the Morro de Calzada.

Honest expectations

The city has little colonial fabric left after the 1990 and 1991 earthquakes. Hot and humid year-round with heavy rain. Orchid flowering is seasonal and species-dependent - a garden visit is not guaranteed to be spectacular. Sites are spread out and need transport.

Nearby

The Morro de Calzada and Tingana are west; Rioja and the Alto Mayo forest are beyond.