Manaus

 

If you take a river tour, go up the Rio Negro. From a three-night river boat trip from Manaus up the Rio Negro with a guide, you can expect to see some wildlife and visit some of the forest remnants, but two weeks or more are needed to reach untouched areas. Small two-story river boats carry five to ten people, sleeping in hammocks on the upper deck. Large boats carrying hundreds ply the river too, but the big boats don't stop between ports.The most popular place for jungle tours is Lake Mamori/Lake Juma about 100km south of Manaus. Other recommended areas are Rio Urubu about 200km east of and Novo Airão about 100km northwest of Manaus. Make sure that your travel agency has a valid Embratur Brazilian Tourism Board registration.

Amazon Green Tour

(http://www.amazongreentou...) - amazon green tour offers individual excursions into virgin rain forest and river resorts like lake mamori, lake juma, lake tucuma, anavilhanas reserve, jau national park.

Amazonriders

(http://www.amazonriders.com/)– official embratur brazilian tourism ministry operator specialized in adventure tours to maues, the land of the guarana and satere mawe indians, 267 km from manaus. visitors will explore virgin jungle with indigenes, observe them on their hunting and fishing expeditions for survival and visit the indian reserve of the satere-mawe tribe.

Amazon Cristovao Tour

(http://www.amazoncristova...)– group of experienced guides, operating for more than 20 years and registered with embratur.

Amazon Mystery Kayak Tours

(http://www.amazon-outdoor.com/) - operating for 8 years taking small kayak tours of up to 8 days on rivers in the amazon basin. they are the only brazilian kayak operator working from manaus. quote from fodors: "if you want to really explore the jungle, this is the company to go with. amazon mystery tours has the skills and experience to bring you deep into the rainforest, make your time there safe, fun, and informative, and then get you back to town again.

Tropical Tree Climbing

(http://www.tropicaltreecl...) - the only place in the amazon where you can receive training within the tree climbers international gold standard. takes you on a variety of tree climbing adventures. participants need no training or prior experience to safely enjoy these activities, and minimal physical strength is required.

Amazon Tree Climbing

(http://www.amazontreeclim...), nature and adventure travel or/and sustainable tourism. atc is specialized in tree climbing and boat expeditions at the brazilian amazon. working with small closed groups, they take you to explore the jungle and its highest tree canopies. headquartered in the forest, atc follows rigid safety protocols according to the brazilian adventure tourism standards.the trees are previously inspected and the climb sites are carefully chosen – they opt for primary forest area, which gives a better chance of observing the wildlife in its natural habitat. their services include multilingual guides with solid cultural background, and top quality equipment. they offer trips varying from one day to customized boat expeditions at the rio negro basin. phone 55928195 8585 [email protected]

Swallows and Amazons

(http://www.swallowsandama...). reasonably priced classic-style riverboats for exploring the amazon and negro rivers on trips ranging from 1 to 15 days. the “riverboat” is complete with hammocks or day-beds, bathroom, shower, captain, cook, an english speaking professional guide, all food and drink except alcohol, camping and fishing equipment. a motor canoe is sometimes used to reach more remote locations on the tour at the discretion of the guide. a “houseboat” offers the same but with double or cot style beds. multi-day trips including a 7 night package explore the amazon and negro rivers and the anavilhanas archipelago and offer trekking, canoeing, camping, swimming, alligator hunting and piranha fishing, as well as visits with the local river people. an eleven-night package adds jau national park on the middle negro river and a 15 night package adds the lower branco, as well as more locations on the middle rio negro.

Amazon Clipper

(http://www.amazonclipper....)– a “filtered” experience by comparison and less ambient adventure. offers regular guaranteed tours departing on mondays 3 days/2 nights, wednesdays 4 days/3 nights and the full cruise from mondays to saturdays 6 days/5 nights. all tours depart and arrive at the pier of the hotel tropical in manaus. a typical tour includes a trip to some "igarapes" river creeks and "igapos" flooded forests with powered canoes, a visit with the natives to see their way of life, a hike in the forest, fishing, bird watching, swimming in the river, and lectures on the amazon.

 

There are basically two main areas which you can explore: the RioNegro basin and the South of Rio Amazonas. Both of these regions are sparselyinhabited, so you will not be completely isolated from civilization. If you want tomake a trip to a reserve or a remote area, ask for a special expedition package andplan to pay much more and spend a few days for the transfer to and from the reserve.Rio Negro is an area that is great for the jungle vegetation and for the lack ofmosquitoes due to the acidity of the river. Unfortunately, the lack of mosquitoesmeans there are a lot fewer animals that live there. The South of Rio Amazonasis a network of rivers, lakes and channels. There are mosquitoes and wildlife, however,there are quite a lot of houses and farms -- and thuscivilization is a lot more visible. Most tours go to or through lake Mamori. There arequite a lot of jungle things to see around the lake, but do not expect pristine naturedue to all the farming going on around the lake. There is a reserve nearby calledJurara. It also seems to be inhabited and there is not much difference betweenthe reserve and lake Mamori. A better option may be a trip to lakeJuma which is a special protected area.

 

There are two seasons in the Amazon basin: wet season and dry season.During the dry season it's very hot that means 40 C plus the humidity and thus maybe unbearable for some. As well, many channels and rivers dry out. On the other hand,fishing is much easier since all fish concentrates in the remaining water basins. Duringthe wet season, it rains almost every day. When there is a storm, the amount of rainmay be overwhelming. Thus, if traveling in wet season, be prepared to get wet and not dryout until the end of your trip. During theseason the rivers and lakes rise several meters and many new channels are formed inthe flooded jungle. Temperature-wise, the weather is more bearable and only thehumidity will be a problem. The wet season lasts roughly January to July, with thebest time to visit the jungle May to August.

 

If you travel during the wet season, keep your important things like documentsin tested waterproof bags/containers. Cotton clothes let your skin breathe but there isno chance that they will ever get dry. Some people find nylon/synthetic clothes to work well.Long sleeves and long pants are not 100% necessary but you will not regret wearing them.A flashlight is necessary for the night, as the jungle is pitch-black. A machete most probablywill not be required on short/casual trips but is essential for longer expeditions.A lighter and a pocket knife are a good idea. The pocket knife is especially important sinceit can provide the only defense against the boa and the anaconda indeed, attacks do occur.A mosquito repellent is most probably a very smart idea. It keeps otherbugs away too and it reduces the risk of being infected by a disease-carrying insect.However, the number of mosquitoes in the jungle is not completely overwhelming, so forlonger expeditions you may consider getting used to them. Additionally, a good guide can showyou some natural repellents available in the jungle.Sun block is needed especially during the dry season. Otherwise, keep your luggage tothe minimum. Do not take things you do not really need.

Dictionary

Of trip operators: native people - people who live in the region. most of the time that means, with portuguese descend. these are not aboriginal inhabitants. native guide - a guide who is a native see native people. if at all, usually speaks only marginal english. explore the meeting of the waters - a 10-second chance to glance at it while crossing the river on a speedboat.

 

native people - people who live in the region. Most of the time that means, with Portuguese descend. These are not aboriginal inhabitants.

native guide - a guide who is a native see native people. If at all, usually speaks only marginal English.

explore the meeting of the waters - a 10-second chance to glance at it while crossing the river on a speedboat.