MANAUS
Capital of the state of Amazonas, in the heart of the tropical forest, on the Negro river, 16Km from the point on confluence with the Solimões river, at the point the river takes the name of Amazonas.

History:
The town's origin goes back to a Portuguese fortress, the São José da Barra stronghold, built in 1669, but the town actually started to exist only two centuries later. From 1500 to 1852, all the Brazilian Amazon was under control of the province of Grão-Pará (today's Pará state - capital Belém). In 1755 the region later to be called Amazonas state became a separated jurisdiction (the São José da Barra do Rio Negro jurisdiction) whose administrative center was Barcelos, upper Rio Negro almost 700Km from Manaus. The jurisdiction then consisted of only some few villages, amongst which Barra do Rio Negro - today Manaus. At last, in 1852 the Rio Negro province separated from Belém and its county town, Barra, took the Indian name of Manaus. In 1889, when the republic was proclaimed, the Rio Negro province became the State of Amazonas.

Distances:
Manaus to Rio de Janeiro 3.000Km as the crow flies.
Manaus to Belém: about 1.750Km by river.
Altitude: 32 meters from the sea level.

AMAZON OPERA HOUSE
Undeniably the most beautiful and important monuments left from the rubber boom, the Opera House continues to provide art and aesthetic to the city of Manaus.
Over one hundred years old, the construction was done in eclectic and neo-classical style entirely in imported European materials. In the shape of a harp, the central nave has a capacity for six hundred and forty in the auditorium and the three floors with box seats. Toward the back, the stage curtain projects the painting of the meeting of the waters, originally done in Paris by Crispim do Amaral. The curtain rises vertically so as not to harm the painting. On the ceiling are painted canvases depicting drama, dance, and music, a homage to Carlos Gomes. The central gold chandelier descends to the level of the seats for cleaning purposes and changing light bulbs. Above the chandelier, in the middle of the roof, there is a painting of someone standing beneath the Eiffel Tower. The Noble Room, decorated by Domenico de Angelis, was made with twelve thousand pieces of wood fitted together without the use of nails or glue. The Opera House is an attraction not to be missed upon visiting the city of Manaus.

RIO NEGRO PALACE
Until 1917, it was the residence of a wealthy rubber merchant, the German Valdemar Sholtz. Until last year, it housed the executive offices of the Amazonas State Government. Now it serves as an Exposition Center.

CUSTOMS HOUSE
The building was inaugurated in 1906. It was entirely pre-fabricated in England and from the same country, ceramic facing bricks suitable to the Amazonian climate were imported.

FLOATING DOCKS
Inaugurated in 1902, these are an ingenious floating structure of English engineering. They rise and fall with the Negro River's water level which can range over 10 meters. The docks serve ocean-going vessels of any draft during the entire year.

MUNICIPAL MARKET
Inaugurated in 1882, the market is a replica of the now gone Les Halles Market in Paris, France. It is a marketing center for typical Amazonian products.

ZOO
Visiting the CIGS Zoo, localized in military area, rounded by preserved forest, with structure able to shelter animals from local fauna with care of the veterinary.

CHAMINÉ ART CENTER
It is the former water-treatment plant for Manaus. The building was completely restored and adapted to serve as space for regularly held cultural productions.

RIVER BEACHES
Ponta Negra Beach - it is the most attended one. It was once inhabited by the Manaos Indians from which the name of Manaus city originated. Recently it was urbanized with wide sidewalks, special lighting, cycling trails, amphitheaters, sport areas, charming snack bars and other recreational attractions. It is located about 13km from downtown.

PARKS
INPA Science Grove - Area cared for by INPA, National Institute for Amazonian Research which studies the environment and the peculiarities of the flora, fauna, minerals and fossils of the region. The mains attractions are the manatees and the otters which are part of INPA's projects of preservation.

Mindu Park - An ecological reserve with a fine system of trails, elevated walkways, amphitheater and programs of conservation.

JANAUARY PARK
This ecological reserve is part of our itinerary and offers a unique opportunity for tourists to discover the diverse ecosystem of the Amazon.
Located on the Rio Negro, just forty-five minutes by boat from Manaus, the January Ecological Park unites several ecosystems of the region and has the advantage of being easily accessible by travelers. The nine thousand hectare area contains firm land, plain, and igapó´s forests, and is operated by a tour association composed of businesses from the sector with the permission of the Governor of the State. At the location, tourists can travel by canoe along the igapós, which are intersected by large and small trees with liana and vegetation typical of this ecosystem. At the Victoria Régia (Water-lily) lake, there is a rustic, yet secure, bridge that takes the visitor to get to know this beautiful Amazonian flower.

JAÚ NATIONAL PARK
The Jaú National Park is the largest national park in Brazil and the world, in continuous and intact tropical rainforest. Located between the cities of Novo Airão and Barcelos, to the north of Amazonas, it is named after the Park’s main river, and one of the largest Brazilian fish: Jaú. Today, this ecological paradise is known as a model of the Amazon Conservation Unit, conjunctly made up of the Sustainable Development Reserves of Amanã and Mamirauá, the largest preserved biological corridor in the world in terms of equatorial jungle, with over 5.7 million hectares.
The Park preserves the largest black water basin in the world, the Rio Negro Basin. The dark color of the water comes from the springs that emerge from very ancient lands – which leave the rivers loaded with organic and iron elements. It is relief is quite diversified, including flood areas, plains, hills, igapós, igarapés, and firm land forests. Bathed by rivers Negro, Jaú, Carabinani, Unini, Pauini and Canauaru, the Jaú Park also concentrates several waterfalls of unequaled beauty.
This region was the first colonization pole in the Amazon, made by Indians and marked by fierce battles for the dominion of the territory. There are reports of archeological finds in ceramics and stone engravings.

ANAVILHANAS ARCHIPELAGO
The largest river archipelago in the world, Anavilhanas, in Amazonas state, is made up of 400 islands and hundreds of lakes, rivers, swamps and sandbanks, all rich in animal and plant life. It is situated on the river Negro and is a paradise for biologists and ecologists. The archipelago is protected by federal law, which established the Anavilhanas Ecological Station, with an area of 350,000 hectares.
The period from November to April marks high water on the river Negro, and half the islands are submerged, forcing the animals to take refuge on higher ground. When the waters retreat, the islands expose to view beaches and 90 kilometers of canals, which intersect the whole region. Anavilhanas is near the Jau National Park, the largest forest reserve in South America at 2.27 million hectares, also on the river Negro.

MEETING OF THE WATERS
The phenomenon of the meeting of the waters of the Negro and Solimões rivers is the excursion most sought after by travelers. Located approximately ten Kilometers from Manaus, the two largest rivers of the region meet but do not mix for six kilometers creating a spectacle of the dark waters of the Negro and the muddy waters of the Solimões, which then end up forming the Amazon on out the Atlantic Ocean. Differences in density, temperature, and velocity of the two rivers contribute to the occurrence of this phenomenon.