Manaus serves as a base for tourist excursions exploring the mid-Amazon region.

In the days of the Amazon rubber boom Manaus was known as the Paris of the jungle. Apart from some splendid colonial buildings and the magnificent Teatro Amazonas, most vestiges of those glory days are long gone. Today’s Manaus is a somewhat chaotic place, but it also has an exotic feel to it.

Manaus serves as a base for tourist excursions exploring the mid-Amazon region. Day trips can be made by riverboat to visit villages built on stilts or to hike through the jungle on foot. Several jungle lodges in the vicinity offer a wide variety of rain-forest programs. 20 kms from Manaus, down the river, is the “Meeting of the Waters,” where the dark, muddy waters of the Rio Negro begin to merge with the light, yellowish waters of the Rio Solimoes to become the Amazon.

Despite the fact that it is 1,600 km inland, huge oceangoing ships dock there to distribute their cargo throughout the Amazon basin, and it’s fascinating to watch them unload.

When to travel to Manaus

The Amazon region, where Manaus is located, is one of the world’s rainiest places. Rainfall occurs most frequently from December to May, making travel during those months exceedingly difficult. The rest of the year the region still receives plenty of rain, though showers tend to last only an hour or two. Although Brazil’s high season generally runs from December to March, the best (and most popular) time to visit Manaus and the Amazon is between May and November.