Manaus

THE CITY OF MANAUS

Manaus is a city in Brazil and the capital of the state of Amazonas. It is one the country’s largest cities and the financial centre of north Brazil.  Manaus is situated on the Rio Negro. A good 10 kilometers upstream from the point this river meets the Solimoes to form the Amazon River.

Manaus was founded in 1669 under the name of the “Fort of São Jose do Rio Negro”. The settlement was elevated to the rank of town in 1832 with the new name of "Manaus", which means "mother of the gods" .The exploitation of rubber made Manaus the richest city in South America during the late 1800s and helped it earn its nickname, the "Paris of the Tropics". The rubber industry attracted a lot of  wealthy European families  who settled in Manaus and and added a flair of sophisticated European artistry to the city.

Manaus now has a population of more than one and a half million inhabitants. Situated in the middle of the Amazon rain forest it serves as a travel hub and a distribution center for the river areas of the upper Amazon. It is a thriving river harbour as well as the major destination on the highway from the south. The Manaus conglomeration  is the second largest metropolitan area in the Northern Brazil and the twelfth in all of Brazil, with 2,006,870 inhabitants in this metropolitan area

Manaus is an important hub for ecotourism. This city's history is based on the rubber harvests of years past, and today it thrives as a cruise port by offering numerous historical and ecological tourist attractions.

THE PORT OF MANAUS

Ships dock at the main port in Manaus is directly downtown. Most points of interest in the city are within walking distance of the harbour. Manaus has a very modern cruise terminal and you will find everything you need to make your way around Manaus in the terminal. It is the biggest harbour in the Amazon region and an important river port, with floating docks that can accommodate oceangoing vessels, including cruise ships.

Travelling by ship to and from Manaus is quite well organized . Most lines are operated by private companies or individuals. Travel conditions vary very much; from private yatches, to large cruisers, to overloaded ferries with hundreds of locals. The distance from Manaus to Belém is 1713 km; this may take from a few days to a few weeks, depending on your carrier and on the direction of travelling (upstream or downstream).

WHAT TO SEE AND DO IN MANAUS

Because of its location next to the Amazon rain forest the city of Manaus draws a lot of visitors from both Brazil itself and from all other countries in the world.

The city offers plenty of boat and land trips into the surrounding jungle where a great diversity of exotic Amazon wildlife can be discovered.

Ponta Negra beach is a popular neighbourhood with a beachfront and a lively nightlife area. It lies about 18 km from downtown.

A popular spot is the Meeting of the Waters : here  the black waters of the Negro River meet the brown waters of the Solimoes River. These two rivers flow side by side without mixing for about 9 km. Another interesting trip are the  river banks and "igarapes". Tourists can also swim and canoe in placid lakes or simply walk in the lush forest.

One of the main sights of the city of Manaus is the “Teatro Amazonas”, which is the opera house built in 1896. It is a reminder of how wealthy the city had become around the turn of the century due to the rubber exploitation.  The theatre was prominently featured in Werner Herzog's 1982 film Fitzcarraldo, a large part of which was filmed in the Manaus area..

Manaus is a green city. There are a lot of  large parks with native forest preservation areas, such as the Bosque da Ciência and Parque do Mindú. The largest urban forest in the world is located within the Federal University of Amazonas which was founded in January 17, 1909 and is the oldest federal university of Brazil.

A touch of old can be found in the Mercado Adolpho Lisboa,. This marketplace was founded in 1882. Here in fruit, vegetables, and especially fish are sold. The inspiration was  the “Les Halles” market in Paris. Other interesting historical sites are the customs building, of mixed styles and medieval inspiration; the Rio Negro Palace cultural center; and the Justice Palace, right next to the Amazonas Opera House.