Sights in Manaus
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Museu do Seringal Vila Paraíso
The Museu do Seringal Vila Paraíso is a 25-minute boat ride from Ponta Negra, which is itself a 20-minute bus ride from the center. Fortunately, the trip there is part of the fun, and can be combined with a stop at Praia da Lua, Manaus's best beach. Guided tours include an opulent rubber baron's townhouse and a replica rubber tapper shack, and walking a short trail to see how rubber trees are tapped, and the latex processed in a thatch smoke house.
A bit gimmicky but still interesting, and the only place in Manaus to learn about this all-important history. Boats to the museum (25 minutes) leave frequently from Marina Davi, just past Ponta Negra. Take Bus 011, 012, or 120…
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Parque do Mindú
Believe it or not, Manaus has its own endemic primate: the tiny Sanguinus bicolor, better known as the pied bare-faced tamarin. The species is critically endangered, with no known groups in the open forest – they seem to have evolved to thrive only in areas of secondary growth – yet notoriously difficult to breed in captivity. The best place to observe this curious and vanishing creature is Parque do Mindú, a 33-hectare park in a residential area of Manaus about 6km from the center. The park has a system of eight intersecting trails, including sections of elevated walkways and an orchid house. Volunteer guides can help visitors locate the tamarins (early morning and …
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Encontro das Águas
Downriver from Manaus, the 'black' (actually reddish-brown) water of the Rio Negro meets the 'white' (light brown) water of the Rio Solimões, but owing to differences in speed, density and temperature, the waters don't immediately mix. Instead, they flow side by side for several kilometers, an occurrence known as the Encontro das Águas.
The phenomenon, which occurs in several places along the river, was the inspiration for the wavy black-and-white tile work in front of the Opera House, and borrowed again for Rio de Janeiro's famous beach promenade. Boat trips to see the meeting of the waters are typically combined with a highly packaged tour of Parque Ecológico Janauar…
reviewed
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Jardim Botânico Adolpho Ducke
Spanning over 100 sq km on the eastern edge of Manaus, this massive park and protected area is reportedly the world’s largest urban forest. Its namesake was an Italian-born botanist and entomologist who spent decades studying the Amazon rain forest, especially its complex tree systems. The park has long been used for ecological research, but the city is working hard to make it accessible to casual visitors too. There’s a network of eight short trails (3km in all) and plans to build a nature museum, observation tower, and canopy-level walkway – even an aquarium – are well underway. To get there and back, take bus 448 ‘Ciudad de Deus’ from Praça da Matriz; it’s a solid 90 m…
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Praia da Lua
Manaus's best beach is a short boat ride up the Rio Negro and can be coupled with a visit to the Museu do Seringal for a nice city escape. The sand is surprisingly fine and the water good for swimming, despite the tea-color. Like all river beaches, Lua is biggest when the water is low (November and December) and smallest when it's high (June and July). Trees provide some shade, but the midday sun can be intense. Semi-permanent eateries serve fish and beer at tables set up along the water.
The big drawback: no toilets. Catch a boat to Praia da Lua (10 minutes) from Marina Davi. just past Ponta Negra. Take Bus 011, 012, or 120 (20 minutes) to the turnaround and wait for the…
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Porto Flutuante
Officially called the Estação Hidroviária de Manaus, the Porto Flutuante is where you'll disembark if you come to Manaus by boat. Inaugurated in 1902 and designed by the British, it was considered a technical marvel because it rises and falls with seasonal water levels, which can vary as much as 14m (annual high-water points are marked on the wall beside the bridge leading to the dock). It's quite a scene, with cargo and passengers being loaded and unloaded.
You used to be able to just wander around, but it is now restricted to passengers only. A bridge just to the right of the port entrance leads to a very pleasant shopping and eating area with good views of the docks…
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Teatro Amazonas
Manaus’s famous opera house, the Teatro Amazonas, was designed in eclectic neo-classical style by engineers from Lisbon and a team of interior designers at the height of the rubber boom. Opened in 1896, this beautiful theater symbolizes the opulence that once was Manaus. The artists and most of the materials (Italian marble and glass, Scottish cast iron) were imported from Europe. The wood is Brazilian, but even some of that was sent to Europe to be carved. One truly homespun feature is the roadway outside the entrance; it is made of rubber, so that late-arriving carriages wouldn’t create too much noise. The theater has been restored four times (most recently in 1990).…
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Centro Cultural Palácio Rio Negro
The former home of eccentric German rubber baron Waldemar Scholz, the Centro Cultural Palácio Rio Negro was built in the early 1900s, and served for many years as the state capital and governor's residence. Converted into a cultural center in 1997, it now hosts temporary art exhibits and occasional concerts and performances in the eclectic main house. Other buildings contain a fine art gallery, a ho-hum coin museum, and a sound-and-image museum.
Free guided tours are available, usually in Portuguese, though you may get lucky and find an English-speaking docent.
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Museu do Seringal Vila Paraíso
This museum is a 25-minute boat ride from Ponta Negra, which is itself a 20-minute bus ride from the center. Fortunately, the trip there is part of the fun, and can be combined with a stop at Praia da Lua, Manaus’ best beach. Guided tours include an opulent rubber baron’s townhouse and a replica rubber-tapper shack, and walking a short trail to see how rubber trees are tapped, and the latex processed in a thatched smokehouse. It’s a bit gimmicky but still interesting, and is the only place in Manaus to learn about this all-important history.
reviewed
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Igreja São Sebastião
Although it’s by no means Manaus’ largest or oldest church – the cement block exterior belies as much – Igreja São Sebastião has a beautifully restored interior (completed to mark the 100-year anniversary of the arrival of the Capuchin Franciscan order) that is well worth a peek. A short nave gives way to the church’s opulent altar, with surprisingly dramatic paintings of saints and priests presiding over earthly battles. The handy location doesn’t hurt; it’s opposite the Teatro Amazonas facing the plaza.
reviewed
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Museu de Ciências Naturais da Amazônia
Known by many locals as the Museu Japonesa (Japanese Museum), because it is run by Japanese-Brazilians and located in a predominately Japanese-Brazilian area, this museum has an extensive exhibit of stuffed fish, preserved butterflies and some unnervingly large beetles and spiders from the region, with descriptions in English, Portuguese and Japanese. A modest aquarium contains live Amazon fish, including the impressive 2m-long pirarucú.
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Museu do Índio
Sandwiched between two churches and run by Salesian nuns, the Museu do Índio displays artwork, musical instruments, fishing and hunting tools and ritual objects of indigenous groups from mostly Amazonas and Pará states. The collection is large and quite good, but the displays are artless and explanations seriously lacking. You’ll find similar pieces but a more modern and engaging presentation – and free admission! – at the Museu Amazônico.
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Parque Senador Jéfferson Péres
Known as Parque Jéfferson, this new Y-shaped city park has grass, benches, and a small orchid house, plus food stands in colonial-style gazebos and ample night-time lighting. This area was once a gritty favela (slum), and the park’s creation was not without controversy, requiring scores of homes to be torn down, and hundreds of residents relocated. A rotten smell wafting up from the creek running through the park is the main drawback.
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Museu do Homem do Norte
The Museu do Homem do Norte (Museum of Northern Man) is an ethnology and anthropology museum dedicated to the lifestyle of the people of northern Brazil. There's a particular focus on the riverbank-dwelling Caboclos (literally 'copper-coloured') people, the mixed descendents of indigenous people and Portuguese.
The collection includes an interesting array of Indian weapons, including the vicious furador de olhos (eye piercer).
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Museu Amazônico
Housed in a converted mansion a short walk from the center, the Museu Amazônico has a small but excellent collection of indigenous items and artifacts from around the Amazon, many from ongoing archaeological studies in Amazonas state. Highlights include Matis and Maku hunting tools, and terrific masks and costumes used in Yanomami and Ticuna rituals. The 1st floor houses temporary art exhibits.
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Bosque da Ciência
Occupying a 13-hectare plot of secondary forest within the city, the Bosque da Ciência has aging enclosures containing animals such as manatees, giant otters and caimans, but a great many creatures roam freely about the park – in the underbrush, high in the trees, and even ambling down the paths – including monkeys, sloths, turtles, various tropical birds, pacas and anteaters.
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Zoológico do cigs
Operated by the Brazilian army, the Zoológico do cigs contains jaguars, anaconda, tapir and other animals supposedly 'rescued' by soldiers training in the jungle, but the sorry little enclosures make you wonder just how dedicated to animal welfare the place really is. Take bus 120 from Praça da Matriz.
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Galeria do Largo
Right on Praça São Sebastião, Galeria do Largo has a modern-minded rotation of art exhibits, from contemporary paintings to a miniature scale model of the city.
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Encontro das Águas
Downriver from Manaus, the 'black' (actually reddish-brown) water of the Rio Negro meets the 'white' (light brown) water of the Rio Solimões, but owing to differences in speed, density and temperature, the waters don't immediately mix. Instead, they flow side by side for several kilometers, an occurrence known as the Encontro das Águas.
The phenomenon, which occurs in several places along the river, was the inspiration for the wavy black-and-white tile work in front of the Opera House, and borrowed again for Rio de Janeiro's famous beach promenade. Boat trips to see the meeting of the waters are typically combined with a highly packaged tour of Parque Ecológico Janauar…
reviewed
