Manaus walking tour & city guide

The rubber boom city

The Amazon Theatre, an opera house with a colorful dome, was built with materials shipped from Europe. The Adolpho Lisboa Market, an iron market hall, sells fish and fruits from the jungle.

The rivers

Just outside the city, at the Meeting of the Waters, the dark Rio Negro and the sandy Solimões flow side by side without mixing for several kilometers. Boat trips visit floating villages, pink river dolphins and jungle lodges.

A day in Manaus

Visit the Teatro Amazonas, the opera house built during the rubber boom, then the bustling Adolpho Lisboa market by the river.

Take a boat to the Meeting of the Waters, where the dark Rio Negro and the sandy Solimões flow side by side without mixing for kilometers.

Good to know

Manaus is the gateway to Amazon jungle lodges. Water levels change dramatically between the wet and dry seasons.

It is hot and humid all year. Try tambaqui, a large river fish.

Into the jungle

Most visitors spend a night or two at a jungle lodge on the Rio Negro or one of its tributaries. Typical activities include canoe trips through flooded forests, piranha fishing, spotting pink river dolphins and caimans at night, and visits to riverside communities. In the high-water season, from about April to July, boats can glide between the treetops; in the dry season, white sand beaches appear along the rivers. Long-sleeved clothes and insect repellent are essential.