Manaus and the Amazon

The Meeting of the Waters, boat trips and jungle lodges are all reached from this river city at the centre of the Amazon.

Manaus and the Amazon
Photo: Arne Müseler, CC BY-SA 3.0 de

Attractive locations

Amazon Theatre

Opulent opera house built during the rubber boom, with a pink dome of tiles in the national colours. Guided visits show the gilded interior, and performances are held in the main hall.

Amazon Rainforest

The vast tropical forest around Manaus, explored on boat trips, jungle lodges and short treks. Visitors look for monkeys, birds, caimans and river dolphins along the waterways.

Manaus Metropolitan Cathedral

Main Catholic church of the city, near the port and the old centre. Its plain white towers face a leafy square that is a pleasant stop on a walk through the historic district.

Mercado Adolpho Lisboa

Iron-framed market hall beside the river, inspired by Les Halles in Paris. Stalls sell fish, fruit, herbs, handicrafts and Amazon specialties.

Rio Negro Palace

Early 20th-century mansion built for a rubber baron, now a cultural centre with museum rooms and rotating exhibitions about the region's history.

Meeting of the Waters

The place near Manaus where the dark Rio Negro and the sandy-coloured Solimões flow side by side for several kilometres without mixing. Boat trips take visitors to see the sharp line between them.

Anavilhanas National Park

A large archipelago of forested islands in the Rio Negro, with flooded forest, quiet channels and wildlife. It is visited on boat tours and lodge stays from the Manaus area.

Airports

Eduardo Gomes International Airport MAO

Manaus, Brazil

It is about 9 km in a straight line from Manaus and the Amazon.

Scams and safe taxis

Taxi and scam advice for this country is on the Brazil page

Weather by month

Each month shows its average temperature in °C and its mm of rain per month.

  • Jan26.5 °C224 mm
  • Feb26.2 °C236 mm
  • Mar26.2 °C268 mm
  • Apr26.1 °C262 mm
  • May26.2 °C205 mm
  • Jun26.0 °C119 mm
  • Jul26.3 °C76 mm
  • Aug27.6 °C50 mm
  • Sep29.0 °C68 mm
  • Oct29.2 °C103 mm
  • Nov28.4 °C135 mm
  • Dec27.1 °C213 mm

Driest months: Jul, Aug, Sep. Wettest months: Feb, Mar, Apr.

Long-term averages from NASA POWER; the area covered is large, so local weather can differ.

Costs

Prices here are about 46% of US prices (World Bank, 2025). This compares a country's overall prices, not the cost of a trip.

Who can help

Emergency

Police 190. Ambulance 192. Fire 193.

local government

Military Police emergency number 190

Helps with: Brazil's national telecom regulator lists 190 as the Military Police code. The same list gives 192 for the SAMU ambulance, 193 for fire, 194 for Federal Police and 197 for Civil Police.

Who qualifies: Anyone in Brazil who needs the police urgently, including visitors.

Phone: 190

Official website

Source · checked 2026-11-04

local government

Civil Defence (Defesa Civil) number 199

Helps with: Brazil's civil defence service for floods, landslides and other disasters, listed by the national telecom regulator and the Ministry of Communications as the Defesa Civil emergency number.

Who qualifies: Anyone in Brazil affected by a disaster or at risk from one.

Phone: 199

Official website

Source · checked 2026-11-04

ngo

Brazilian Red Cross (Cruz Vermelha Brasileira)

Helps with: Brazil's national Red Cross society, headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. Its site describes first aid courses, health care in disasters, disaster risk management and work reconnecting migrants with their families.

Who qualifies: People in Brazil who need its first aid, health, disaster or family-reconnection services.

Address: Praca Cruz Vermelha 10, Centro, Rio de Janeiro

Official website

Source · checked 2026-11-04

un agency

International Organization for Migration (IOM) Brazil

Helps with: The UN migration agency, in Brazil since 2016. It supports migrants, returnees, displaced people and host communities, and works with governments on migration. Its office is in Brasilia.

Who qualifies: Migrants, returnees and displaced people in Brazil. It is not a help service for ordinary tourists.

Address: SAUS Quadra 5, Bloco N, Ed. OAB, Salas 401 a 412, Asa Sul, Brasilia-DF, 70070-913

Official website

Source · checked 2026-11-04

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