Experiences and local guides in Manaus

Nature

Manaus sits in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, where the dark, acidic Rio Negro meets the muddy Solimões and the two run side by side for 6 km without mixing. Around the city: igapós (flooded forests), the Anavilhanas archipelago with 400 islands, pink river dolphins, caimans, sloths, macaws and more than 1,500 bird species. The forest rises and falls by up to 12 metres with the river's floods.

Activities

• Meeting of the waters by boat, Anavilhanas and the Rio Negro on 2 to 4-day river cruises
• Jungle lodges: guided hikes, canoeing through the igapós, night-time caiman spotting, piranha fishing
• Swimming with pink dolphins at Novo Airão, birdwatching and primate spotting
• Riverside communities and indigenous villages of Tupé and Tarumã, crafts and manioc flour
• Teatro Amazonas, Adolpho Lisboa market, tucupi, tambaqui fish and Amazon fruit juices

When to go

All year, hot and humid. December to May is rainier and the river rises: you paddle inside the flooded forest. June to November the water drops, sand beaches appear on the Rio Negro and hiking is easier.

How to get there

Eduardo Gomes airport (MAO) is 15 km away, with flights from São Paulo, Brasília, Bogotá, Panama and Miami. No roads connect to the rest of Brazil: you arrive by plane or by boat on the Amazon (5 days from Belém). Lodges and Rio Negro trips leave from the port or the AM-010 road; the meeting of the waters is 30 minutes by boat.