Contamana
| Contamana | |
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View of the town
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 Contamana
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| Coordinates: 7°21′02″S 75°00′33″W / 7.350528°S 75.009189°W | |
| Country | Peru |
| Region | Loreto |
| Province | Ucayali |
| Elevation | 134 m (440 ft) |
| Population (2007) | 15,036 |
| Time zone | PET (UTC-5) |
| Climate | Af |
| Website | www.muniucayali.gob.pe |
Contamana is a town in the Loreto Region in northeastern Peru. It is the capital of both Ucayali Province and Contamana District and has an urban population of about 15,036 (as of 2007). It has one airport.
Contamana can be accessed by both plane and boat. It takes 10 hours coming from Pucallpa in the south and a few days coming from Iquitos in the north. A small plane can be chartered roundtrip from either destination for around $300 US dollars. The flight takes about 1.5 hours from the south or north. The boat ride can be very long and boring at times, though they do stop for lunch along the way in one of the small villages coming from Pucallpa. Coming from Iquitos, the boat takes about 4 days. The town of Contamana is very safe. There is no crime there.
There are a few good restaurants, which open at 5pm. All the food is homemade, and very tasty. There is an open market where you can buy breakfast in the morning. The food is also good there. Lots of fish varieties, rice, vegetables and other natural foods that are prepared by local vendors. Although a fair amount of the food is also shipped in by boat and has pesticides like it would at other stores.
There are also a couple of banks and very inexpensive hotels, with and without air conditioning $25-$35 USD per night.
Siesta's are common in the town from 2-5pm. Most shops and restaurants are closed between these hours. Even if you want to stay awake, the sun and the jungle air will automatically lull you to sleep between these hours.
Contamana is by far, the cheapest place to purchase Shipobo mural art. What may cost hundreds of dollars in Iquitos, Pucallpa or Cusco, will only cost you about $30 to $50 US dollars. Beautiful hand stitched murals that tell a truly amazing story of the Shipibo Indians that have lived in Peru for thousands of years.
For those interested in Ayahuasca, just ask one of the taxi drivers and they will take you to see a shaman where you will be provided the medicine at a very low cost (compared to Iquitos, Puerto Maldonado, Pucallpa or Cusco). For females, you'll want to be accompanied by a male companion during ceremony, someone that you know.
Many, many people who work with plant medicine would consider it unbelievably risky bordering on insane to ask a cab driver for a "shaman". There is a lot of theft and lying in the jungle and a person would have no idea if the "shaman" were trained, qualified, or safe, or where the Ayahuasca came from. There are also a lot of "shamans" who are unethical. That said, with research, recommendations from different sources, and forthought, a quality shaman, or more likely an ayahuasquero, a person who does Ayahuasca ceremonies, can be found.
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Wikipedia