Things to do in Manaus

Manaus sits on the Rio Negro, well over a thousand kilometres from the Atlantic. It grew rich on rubber. The money built an opera house that opened in 1896.

Today the city is the gateway to the forest. Tours in Manaus fall into three kinds: the city, the day on the river and the nights in the jungle.

In the city

• Teatro Amazonas. The opera house, visited on a guided tour of about 40 minutes.
• Markets and port. The fish market, the banana fair and the river port show how the city eats and travels.
• Museums. MUSA is a forest park of about 100 hectares with an observation tower. The INPA research institute and a rubber museum add science and history.
• Ponta Negra. The city beach on the river, a short stop on the half-day city tour.

On and beside the rivers

• Meeting of the Waters. The dark Rio Negro and the sandy Solimões run side by side before they join as the Amazon. An eight-hour tour adds dolphin watching and a visit to an indigenous village.
• Anavilhanas. An archipelago in the Rio Negro, where canoes slip through flooded forest. A day trip takes about eight hours.
• Presidente Figueiredo. Waterfalls 107 kilometres north of the city, a day out by road.
• Piranhas and caimans. A half-day boat tour on the Solimões fishes for piranha and watches for caimans.

Nights in the forest

Lodge stays run from one night to six days. The shortest starts with a speedboat crossing of about 30 minutes from Manaus port. One-night rooms may have no air conditioning.

• River boats. Long passages leave from here for Santarém, Belém and Tabatinga.

Practical

• Weather. Highs sit at 30 to 33C all year. The rain is heaviest from December to May, with around 300 mm in March. August is the driest month, under 100 mm.
• River level. The Rio Negro peaks around June and July and bottoms out around October and November, a swing of roughly ten metres.
• Airport. The transfer to central Manaus takes about 30 minutes.
• Insects. Bring repellent and light long sleeves for the forest.