Must see attractions in The Amazon

This museum and zoo contains Amazonian species, from anacondas and white-whiskered squirrel monkeys to jaguars and giant river otters, plus an aviary,…

A tawny sandbar beach emerges on the far bank of the Rio Branco during low water, roughly December to April. Known as Praia Grande, it is indeed big and…

Craft beer has been slow in coming to the Amazon, but this small-scale operation fills a niche with its excellent Sarapo beer, made with hops imported…

Closed indefinitely for renovations when we last passed by, this museum, once it reopens, has two parts: the impressive Igreja do Santo Alexandre and the…

The State Museum of Pará is housed in the grand Palácio Lauro Sodré, originally the residence of Portugal’s royal representatives in Belém and later home…

In its spiffy home on the main plaza, the Memorial dos Autonomistas has a permanent display on Acre’s battle for statehood, plus space for rotating art…

Bosque Rodrigues Alves' aging but well-maintained animal enclosures (which harbor tapir, bird, feline and primate species) and wide, tree-shaded paths are…

This modest museum has exhibits on Santarém's history and several artifacts related to the Cirio de Nazaré, the massive religious celebration held every…

Housed in a curious white tubular structure near Palacio Araguaia, the Memorial Coluna Prestes tells the life story of Captain Luis Carlos Prestes, who…

Once the home of a sugar baron, then a military hospital, the Casa das Onze Janelas now houses an excellent gallery of modern art. The first and second…

Built on the only hill in town, the state capitol building looks over the plaza and Palmas itself. The lobby has huge colorful mosaics and, in one corner,…

As Misões was founded in 1897 and has a huge church and a cemetery full of former missionaries. It has also served as a vocational training center, and…

Inaugurated in 1902, Manaus' 'floating port' was a technical marvel of its day, able to adjust 15m or more to seasonal water levels. (Look for high water…

Facing Praça da Matriz, the city's pretty blue-painted church dates from 1761. Its predecessor church, made of palm fronds in 1661, was Santarém's first…

Palmas' main cathedral has a modern look, with a low sloping exterior and a long interior nave. It lacks the gravitas of Brazil's older houses of worship,…

Tocantins' state legislature meets in this boxy yet lofty structure, with high brick and concrete spires holding up a latticework roof. It's interesting…

This squat yellow church is one of the oldest structures in Boa Vista, beginning as a modest oratory in 1725, and renovated and expanded in 1917.

Rio Branco's main cathedral, built in 1959, has a single soaring bell tower and three long, spacious naves lined with 36 stained-glass windows.

The soaring concave facade and gleaming white paint make this modern church hard to miss, especially as it faces Boa Vista's main plaza.

Porto Velho's unremarkable main cathedral is rather lacking in upkeep but otherwise dominates downtown Porto Velho's skyline.