Meeting of the Waters & Boat Trips
★★★ Encontro das Águas — Meeting of the Waters
One of the greatest natural spectacles of Brazil: 10 km east of Manaus, the Rio Negro (pitch black, warm, acidic) and the Rio Solimões (muddy brown, cooler, nutrient-rich) converge — forming the Amazon. But they do not mix! Over a stretch of 6 kilometers, the two rivers flow side by side without mixing. The reason: different temperatures, speeds, and chemical compositions.
The boat tour to the Encontro das Águas is a half-day trip from Manaus (3–4h, from 100 BRL / 17€). Most tours combine the meeting of the waters with a visit to a Caboclo family (Amazon river dwellers), piranha fishing, and a stop at the water lilies (Vitória-Régia — the largest water lilies in the world, up to 3 meters in diameter!).
Amazon Boat Trips
The Amazon is a waterway: thousands of kilometers of navigable rivers connect the cities and villages of the jungle. For adventurers, there are multi-day boat trips:
- Manaus → Belém: The "great journey" — 4–5 days on a passenger boat (Barco Regional) down the Amazon to the Atlantic. Hang a hammock, watch the river flow, dock at villages, observe dolphins. An unforgettable slow-travel experience. Price: from 300 BRL (50€) hammock class, from 800 BRL (130€) cabin.
- Manaus → Tabatinga: 3–4 days upriver to the tri-border area (Brazil/Colombia/Peru). From Tabatinga, you can continue to Leticia (Colombia) or Iquitos (Peru).
- Day trips on tributaries: By speedboat to the Anavilhanas Archipelago (the second-largest freshwater archipelago in the world with over 400 islands) or the Jau National Park.