The Amazon

This vast forest reserve, covering more than 39 square miles (100 sq km) to the east of Manaus, provides tourists with the opportunity to discover what lies beneath the dense Amazon rainforest canopy. The park building complex contains plant nurseries and an exhibition of the woods of Amazonas, as well as a library and an eatery. A network of trails has been created in the forest, and local youths are trained and employed as guides to direct visitors along the paths (although not all of them speak English). It can be difficult to get into the Amazon for a genuine experience of the rainforest and this vast botanical garden offers a convient oppertunity for close look at the unspoilt forest world.

Address : Av. Margarita, Cidade de Deus a Manaus

E-mail : [email protected]

Website : www.museudaamazonia.org.br/en/

Telephone : +92 99280 4205

Opening times : Daily (except Wednesdays) from 8.30am to 5pm. Wednesdays by appointment.

Admission : BRL 20 for a guided tour; BRL 20 for a guided tour and to climb the research tower

This park, an hour by boat from Manaus on the Rio Negro, provides visitors with a taste of the Amazon experience, encompassing 22,240 acres (9,000 hectares) of forest, lowlands, and flooded forest (igapos). Day package trips are available from Manaus, including lunch in a typical regional restaurant and a visit to the area's other main attraction, The Meeting of the Waters, as well as a canoe trip exploring the park's lakes and streams. Visitors can also spot the symbol of the Amazon at Lake Janauari Park; the famous Amazon Victoria-Nympheaceae water lily, measuring up to seven feet (two metres) in diameter, is ubiquitous atop the still shallow waters. The beautiful flowers only bloom for three days, changing colour from white to dark red before dying.

Address : Superintendência Estadual de Navegação, Portos e Hidrovias (SNPH) Rua Governador Vitório, 121 Centro, Manaus

Where the dark waters of the Rio Negro join the lighter, muddy waters of the Rio Solimoes, an incredible natural phenomenon results. The separate shades of water run side by side for a length of more than four miles (6km) without mixing. The separation is caused by the difference in temperature, density, and flow of the waters from each river: Rio Negro travels at about a mile (2km) per hour with a temperature of 72ºF (22ºC), while Rio Solimoes flows at between two and four miles (4-6km) per hour with a temperature of 82ºF (28ºC). This phenomenon has become a major tourist attraction in Brazil, best accessed by taking an hour's journey by boat from the floating docks in Manaus to see the dramatically divided waters.