Amazonas

Introduction

Giant waterlilies, Amazonia

© Utrecht

Amazonas is a state of Brazil, located in the northwestern corner of the country. It is the largest Brazilian State by area and the 9th largest country subdivision in the world. Amazonas is named after the Amazon River, and was formerly part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru, a region called Spanish Guyana. It was settled by the Portuguese in the early 18th century and incorporated into the Portuguese empire after the Treaty of Madrid in 1750. It became a state of the Brazilian Republic in 1889.

Geography

Amazonas borders the Brazilian states of Roraima, Pará, Mato Grosso, Rondonia, and Acre. It also borders Peru, Colombia and Venezuela. This includes the department Amazonas in Colombia, as well as the Amazonas State, Venezuela, and the Loreto Region in Peru. Amazonas is named after the Amazon River, and home to the highest mountain in Brazil, Pico da Neblina, a tepui which stands at 2,994 metres above sea level.

Cities

• Manaus - capital and largest city
• Tabatinga - border town with Peru and Colombia
• Tefe - small city and great Amazonian surroudings

Sights and Activities

Amazon Rainforest

Night spotting in the Amazon

© Utrecht

The Amazon Rainforest contains over half of the rainforest in the world and is by far the largest rainforest with about 7 million square kilometres. The area actually containing forest is slightly smaller and is divided by 9 countries of which Brazil has the largest part. Manaus is the gateway to the Brazilian central Amazon, and although there are many trips from here, you are better of if you venture deeper into the rainforest and visit from for example Tefe, where you can travel further towards the fantastic Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve, with an abundance of flora and fauna. For more information about the lungs of our planet, read the Amazon Rainforest article.

Meeting of the Waters

Meeting of the Waters - Manaus

© DanSue

This is where the black waters of the Rio Negro meet with the muddy brown water of the Rio Solimões to form the Amazon River. Because the rivers are different temperatures and run at different speeds it makes them run side by side for almost 6 kilometres. The two rivers then slowly mix together to make the mother of all rivers. The Rio Negro flows at around 2 kilometres and hour at 28 °C while the Rio Solimões flows at 4 to 6 kilometres and hour at 22 °C.

Teatro Amazonas

Teatro Amazonas, in English Amazon Theatre, is an amazing opera house built in the city of Manaus. Built in a Renaissance style this opera house took seventeen years to build, with construction being completed in1895. The money for the theatre was funded by the massive rubber boom in the late 19th and early 20th century. The decadence in this build is outrageous with roofing tiles, furniture and murals of the meeting of the waters from Alsace and Paris.

Teatro Amazonas

© Davelanky

Events and Festivals

World Cup 2014

Australian Fans

© Peter

The FIFA World Cup 2014 will be held in Brazil. It takes place from 12 June to 13 July 2014. It will be the second time that Brazil has hosted the competition, the previous being in 1950. The national teams of 32 countries will join the second biggest sports event in the world (after the Olympic Games). A total of 64 matches are to be played in twelve cities across Brazil, with the tournament beginning with a group stage. For the first time at a World Cup Finals, the matches will use goal-line technology. Twelve locations will be World Cup host cities: Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Cuiabá, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Natal, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and São Paulo. They cover all the main regions of Brazil and create more evenly distributed hosting than the 1950 finals in Brazil provided, when matches were concentrated in the south-east and south. As a result the tournament will require significant long-distance travel for teams. Brazil opens the tournament against Croatia, played in Sao Paulo on the 12th of June, and the final will be played on the 13th of July in Rio de Janeiro.

Carnival

Carnival time

© richfuell

Although Carnival (or Carnaval) is a festivity that is celebrated in vast (Catholic) areas in the world, the best is definately found in Brazil. Almost every city has its own Carnival, but the most famous one definately is in Rio de Janeiro. Carnival is the most famous holiday in Brazil and has become an event of huge proportions. Everything in the country comes to a complete stop for almost a week and festivities are go on day and night. The celebrations happen in almost every city and town and is a mixture of Christian, Pagan and Native Brazilian traditions. Carnival is an annual festival held forty-six days before Easter. It is held the 4 days before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. Roman Catholics and some other Christians used to abstaine from the consumption of meat and that is where the name "carnival," meaning "to remove or raise meat", originally comes from. Rhythm, participation, and costumes vary from one region of Brazil to another.

Weather

Amazonas' climate is hot and humid with daytime temperatures mostly around or slightly above 30 °C and balmy nights, mostly staying above 20 °C. Although there are no real dry months, most rain tends to fall from October to early May, while June to September is relatively dry.

Getting There

By Plane

Eduardo Gomes International Airport (MAO) is the major airport in the area. The airport has 2 terminals where Terminal 1 receives domestic and international flights while Terminal 2 receives regional flights and some private jets. Be aware that the terminals are about 700 metres apart from eachother and when you have a taxi waiting for you, be sure to name the airport or give flight details. The airport handled 2 million passengers in 2007. The easiest way to reach Manaus is by air. There are flights from cities such as Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo (City), Quito and several other international and domestic cities.

• Terminal 1: Copa Airlines, Gol Transportes Aéreos, Rico Linhas Aéreas, TAME, TAM Airlines, Varig;
• Terminal 2: Rico Linhas Aéreas, Total Linhas Aéreas, TRIP Linhas Aéreas.

By Bus

• Colombia - Crossing is between Tabatinga and Leticia in Colombia.
• Venezuela - To and from Venezuela , the main crossing is between Pacaraima and Santa Elana de Uairen in Venezuela. There are direct connections between Manaus and Boa Vista in Brazil to Ciudad Bolivar further north in Venezuela.

By Boat

Peru and Colombia
The Amazon functions as the riverine highway of Brazil and many neighbouring countries. Although there are no scheduled services to other countries, you can travel the entire lenght from Belem in the east to the border with Colombia and Peru in the west on many boats. Accommodation is usually in hammocks and it is a great way to experience local Amazonian life. The border is also called the triple frontier and from here on you can travel the Amazone even further into Peru to the city of Iquitos and even Pucallpa.

Other trips less popular with travellers are routes to Porto Velho in the south along the Rio Madeira and north to São Gabriel da Cachoeira travelling along the Rio Negro. The first takes about 4 days, the second almost a week!

Getting Around

By Plane

TRIP has flights between Tefe and Manaus. Some flights might make additional stops at the towns of Carauari and Coari.

By Boat

Manaus is the gateway of the Amazon regarding boat travel. You have a choice of taking slowboats to most places and several fast boats to a few places as well. These fast boats are really only an alternative if you don't want to take a slow boat and you are not able to take a plane. They might be a bit cheaper than planes, but take much longer still and seating is plane like with a few good meals. AJATO is the main operator and travels to Tefé in about 12 hours and all the way to Tabatinga in 31 hours once or twice a weak. To the west along the Solimoes River, travel is much slower because you go upstream. It takes around 2 days to reach Tefé and another 3 or so to reach Tabatinga on the border with Colombia and Peru. From here you can travel even further into Peru to the city of Iquitos. Food is included, but you're best advised to bring snacks and bottled water. Traveling upstream from Manaus to Tabatinga, the trip costs about US$110 in your hammock or US$330 for a double cabin. From Tabatinga, the trip to Manaus takes three days and four nights and costs around US$65 if you bring your own hammock, or around US$240 for two people in a double cabin.

External Links

• Official Governmental Website