Lonely Plan-it: How to float down the Amazon and enjoy memorable meals around Manaus, Brazil

03.10.2023 - 20:39 / lonelyplanet.com

It’s almost impossible to understate the allure of the Amazon.

The world’s largest rainforest enjoys myth-like travel status among curiosity seekers and adventurers – despite being one of the muggiest, wettest and notoriously difficult places to navigate on Earth.

The contrasts in modernity, lifestyle, food, nature and personality between the megalopolis of São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, and Manaus, the Amazon’s largest city – 2691km (1672 miles) between them, as the macaw flies – are startling, especially so for two places within one same (huge) country. You can be certain that the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas isn’t going to be anything like your home, either.

And therein lies its appeal.

Sitting at the confluence of the blackwater Rio Negro – the largest left tributary of the Amazon – and the khaki-toned Rio Solimões – the 1609km(1000-mile)-long, 80km(50-mile)-wide upper section of the Amazon – Manaus has defiantly dug in among one of Mother Nature’s most superlative environments, determined to live off a land that, while deeply unforgiving, serves up an exotic cornucopia of nature and nurture to those who respect its wonder.

A visit here is equally extraordinary: unparalleled biodiversity and feats of the natural world await outside a breakneck jungle metropolis, filled with far-flung foods, frenetic markets and river-driven way of life. Besides Belém in the neighboring state of Pará (the Amazon’s other big city of note), Manaus knows no peers. You’re in the thick of it here – and that’s precisely the point. 

More wildlife during the dry season, or deeper access during the wet months?

The Amazon’s two distinct seasons – wet (high water) and dry (low water) – offer advantages and disadvantages that anyone visiting the jungle should carefully consider. The July-to-December dry season affords lower river levels and better wildlife-spotting potential from riverboat cruises. The January-to-May wet season is true to its name, bringing on rainier days and higher humidity, along with rising water levels that allow for better tributary access via such alternative transport methods as canoes.

June is the sweet spot: water levels remain high and scenery is at its greenest from the rainy season, but rainfall drops off as the jungle transitions to the drier period. The wet season obviously yields more mosquitos (one of the Amazon’s greatest nuisances), but in reality the difference is negligible – they remain a year-round menace. From a price perspective, costs rise during the Brazilian summer (December to February), so there are deals to be had outside of those months.

Check ahead for ever-changing policies.

While citizens from Australia, Canada and the USA have enjoyed visa-free travel for tourism