Reserva Extrativista Baixo Rio Branco-Jauaperi
Amazonas
This newly minted extractive reserve is an outstanding place to immerse yourself in the best the Amazon has to offer, with excellent wildlife-watching –…
Must-see attractions in The Amazon
Pará
If you came to the Amazon to see primary rainforest, look no further than the Floresta Nacional do Tapajós. Wildlife is a possibility – from birds to…
Manaus
Spanning over 100 sq km, this 'garden' is actually the world’s largest urban forest. There's a network of five short trails (guides and closed shoes…
Amazonas
Although this state park was established in 1990 to preserve the unique canyons carved out by the Rio Aracá, it wasn't until recently that the massive…
Pará
The floodplains east and southeast of Santarém are among the Amazon's most rewarding excursions. Flooded for much of the year, the plains are home to…
Manaus
This gorgeous theater was built at the height of the rubber boom, using European designers, decorators and even raw materials. The original driveway was…
Belém
The name of this waterfront market, with its iconic four-turreted structure at its southwestern end, comes from colonial times, when the Portuguese would…
Manaus
Just beyond Manaus, the warm dark Rio Negro pours into the cool creamy Rio Solimões, but because of differences in temperature, speed and density, their…
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Belém
An ambitious renovation project converted three down-at-heel riverfront warehouses into a popular gathering spot, with restaurants, bars, shops and even…
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The Amazon
This simple wood house is where Chico Mendes lived with his family until his murder on the back steps in 1988. Tours include a graphic description of the…
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The Amazon
Not only a great place for a meal or late-afternoon beer, Rio Branco’s refurbished riverside Mercado Velho is a favorite spot for city-sponsored cultural…
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Manaus
Housed in a converted mansion, the Museu Amazônico has a small but excellent collection of indigenous items and artifacts from around the Amazon, many…
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The Amazon
Parque Nacional Montanhas do Tumucumaque (Tumucumaque National Park) is Brazil’s largest national park, spanning nearly 39,000 sq km. It borders the…
Manaus
As close as you'll get to experiencing a real Amazonian ecosystem on a half-day trip from Manaus, this 9000-acre park has flooded forests, giant water…
Manaus
Manaus’ best beach has fine white sand and tea-colored water, and can be coupled with a visit to the Museu do Seringal for a nice city escape. Like all…
Mercado Municipal Adolfo Lisboa
Manaus
Manaus' historic city market was inaugurated in 1882, a downscaled replica of Paris' famed Les Halles market. Safe and bustling, the central building has…
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Amazonas
About 105km by river from Leticia, eco-fierce Palmarí's rambling lodge and research center sits on the south (Brazilian) bank of the river, overlooking a…
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Amazonas
Spanning nearly 23,000 sq km, Jaú is Brazil’s second-biggest national park, and one of the largest tracts of protected tropical rainforest on earth. It…
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The Amazon
Remote Forte Príncipe da Beira, beside the Rio Guaporé, 210km south of Guajará-Mirim, was constructed by the Portuguese between 1776 and 1783 to…
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Amazonas
Zacambú is one of the closest reserves to Leticia, about 70km away by boat. Its lodge is on Laguna Zacambú, just off Río Yavarí, on the Peruvian side of…
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Pará
Henry Ford briefly moved his Fordlândia operations to this tidy little town in the 1940s and this site, 40km from Santarém, makes for an easy day trip…
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Amazonas
Spanning over a 10,000 sq km, Floresta Nacional de Tefé can be visited through various community-based tours. Most begin with a long boat ride across Tefé…
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Reserva Extrativista Pedras Negras
The Amazon
About 240km upstream from Costa Marques, the Reserva Extrativista Pedras Negras has good opportunities for hiking, canoeing, and spotting rare orchids,…
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Pará
This large (9940 sq km) Amazonian rain-forest national park lies west of the town of Itaituba (population 65,000), which is 250km southwest of Santarém…
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Museu do Seringal Vila Paraíso
Manaus
Located on the grounds of a former rubber-baron estate, this museum includes tours of the historic townhouse, a replica rubber-tapper shack and smokehouse…
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Centro Cultural Palácio Rio Negro
Manaus
The former home of eccentric German rubber baron Waldemar Scholz, the Centro Cultural Palácio Rio Negro was built in the early 1900s and served for many…
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The Amazon
Jalapão State Park is a 34,000-sq-km area in far eastern Tocantins, combining cerrado vegetation, hills, caves, crystalline rivers and springs, 40m-high…
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Parque Nacional de Pacaás Novos
The Amazon
This rugged, 7648-sq-km national park includes Rondônia’s highest peak, Pico do Tracoá (1230m), and some spectacular waterfalls. Fauna includes rarely…
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Parque Nacional de Anavilhanas
Amazonas
Stretching along the Rio Negro for almost 130km and with 400 islands, this national park, centered on the Anavilhanas Archipelago, is one of the most…
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Estrada de Ferro Madeira–Mamoré
The Amazon
Right on prime waterfront, the massive warehouses and rusting trains at this historic railyard would make an ideal home for hip bars and restaurants,…
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Belém
Rather humdrum from the outside, the Basílica Santuario de Nazaré has a truly spectacular interior. Sink into a cushioned pew and admire the soaring…
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Reserva Extrativista do Lago do Cuniã
The Amazon
This 558-sq-km reserve, created in 1999, lies 150km down the Rio Madeira from Porto Velho and is accessible only by river. It’s Rondônia’s largest fish…
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Museu Emílio Goeldi & Parque Zoobotánico
Belém
This museum and zoo contains Amazonian species, from anacondas and white-whiskered squirrel monkeys to jaguars and giant river otters, plus an aviary,…
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The Amazon
A tawny sandbar beach emerges on the far bank of the Rio Branco during low water, roughly December to April. Known as Praia Grande, it is indeed big and…
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Amazonas
Craft beer has been slow in coming to the Amazon, but this small-scale operation fills a niche with its excellent Sarapo beer, made with hops imported…
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Belém
Closed indefinitely for renovations when we last passed by, this museum, once it reopens, has two parts: the impressive Igreja do Santo Alexandre and the…
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Manaus
Occupying a lush forest plot within the city, Bosque da Ciência (aka INPA, for the research institution that runs it) has enclosures for rescued manatees,…
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Pará
Praia de Araruna is a narrow, virtually deserted beach with mangrove stands and separated from Praia Barra Velha by a wide tidal channel. High tide can…
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Alter do Chão
A small slice of paradise just offshore from Alter do Chão, the 'Island of Love' is especially striking when the water is low (August to December) and…
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Alter do Chão
This huge three-fingered lake is surrounded by forest and has places to swim, snorkel with fish and spot wildlife (including a resident family of monkeys)…
