51 Best Sights in The Amazon, Brazil

It's hard to miss this opulent Roman-style basilica—not only does it stand out visually, but there's an enormous samauma tree (kapok variety) filled with screeching white-winged parakeets in the plaza out front. The basilica was built in 1908 as an addition to a 1774 chapel, on the site where a caboclo (rural, riverside dweller) named Placido is said to have seen a vision of the Virgin in the early 1700s. The basilica's ornate interior is constructed entirely of European marble and contains elaborate mosaics, detailed stained-glass windows, and intricate bronze doors.

At the end of the 18th century, sugar baron Domingos da Costa Barcelar built the neoclassical House of Eleven Windows as his private mansion. Today Barcelar's mansion is a gallery for contemporary arts, including photography and visiting expositions. The view from the balcony is impressive. Take a walk through the courtyard and imagine scenes of the past. This is where the aristocracy took tea and watched over the docks as slaves unloaded ships from Europe and filled them with sugar and rum.

Used as a research station for the INPA (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisa da Amazônia), the 13 hectares of tropical forest here are home to a great diversity of flora and fauna. Highlights include manatee tanks, caiman ponds, turtles, a museum, a botanical garden with an orchidarium, and nature trails where you can spot monkeys. It's a great place for a walk in the shade and as an Amazonian introduction for kids.

The largest freshwater tropical reserve in the world, Mamirauá is about 1,050 km (650 miles) west of Manaus on the Rio Solimões. The reserve is known for its abundant wildlife, including the endangered red-faced uakari monkey. It is also a pioneer at successfully integrating sustainable tourism into a protected nature area. The reserve and its associated projects are managed by the renowned Mamirauá Institute, which is dedicated to furthering biodiversity preservation and monitoring humans’ impact on the Amazon. Research stations are set up throughout the reserve. For visitors, a trip to Mamirauá is a rare opportunity to participate firsthand in an organization that is making a difference in the preservation of the world’s greatest natural resource. To get to the reserve, you'll need to fly to Tefé (a one-hour flight from Manaus) and take Mamirauá's boat one hour up the river to Pousada Uacari. It's a bit of an effort, but well worth it.

City beautification efforts to increase tourism and encourage environmental conservation led to the creation of the Mangrove of the Egrets, a verdant park that lines the Rio Guamá. It's a great place for a short stroll. There is an aviary, a lookout tower with a view of Belém, a navigation museum, a boardwalk leading to a lookout over the Rio Guamá, a live butterfly museum, ponds with aquatic plants, food vendors, a gift shop, and an excellent restaurant. Entrance to the park is free, although each attraction costs R$3.

Outside Manaus, the slow-moving, muddy Amazon and the darker, quicker Rio Negro flow side by side for 6 km (4 miles) without mixing. If you run your foot in the water at the meeting place, you can feel the difference in temperature—the Amazon is warm and the Negro is cold, the consistencies of the rivers are different, and the experience is magical. The most comfortable way to experience this phenomenen is to book a day trip organized by a recommended tour operator, departing from Porto de Manaus. However, if you are short on time or want to skip the additional activities, head to the CEASA port, where you can rent a boat, or go with a tour company. It takes about an hour to go from CEASA to the Meeting of the Waters, spend some time there, and return. A taxi to CEASA from downtown is about R$30.

Thirteen km (8 miles) north of Soure, Praia do Pesqueiro is the island's most popular beach. When you stand on the white-sand expanse looking out at the watery horizon, the waves lapping at your feet, it's hard to believe you're not on the ocean. The beach has several thatch-roof restaurant-bars, making this an ideal place to spend an afternoon. You can travel here from Soure by taxi, by mototaxi (for one passenger), or by bike. Ask locals or hotel staff about bike rentals when you arrive in Soure. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: swimming; walking.

Built during the rubber boom of the late 1800s, the grandiose Teatro Amazonas was financed by wealthy Brazilian rubber barons who wanted a cultural gem rivaling those in Europe. All the bricks for the building were brought over in ships as ballast from England, and the crystal chandeliers and mirrors were imported from France and Italy. Don't miss the impressive ceiling murals in the main hall, painted by renowned European artists of the time.

Its name literally meaning "see the weight" (a throwback to the time when the Portuguese weighed everything entering or leaving the region), this market is a hypnotic confusion of colors and voices. Vendors hawk tropical fruits, regional wares, and an assortment of tourist kitsch. Most interesting are the mandingueiras, women who claim they can solve any problem with "miracle" jungle roots and charms for the body and soul. They sell jars filled with animal eyes, tails, and even heads, as well as herbs, each with its own legendary power. The sex organs of the pink river dolphin are a supposedly unrivaled cure for romantic problems. In the fish market you get an up-close look at pirarucu, the Amazon's most colorful fish and the world's second-largest freshwater species. Look for bizarre armored catfish species, such as the tamuatá and the huge piraiba. Across the street is a small arched entrance to the municipal meat market. Duck in and glance at the French-style pink-and-green-painted ironwork, imported from Britain. Be sure to visit Ver-o-Peso before noon, when most vendors leave. It opens around 6 am. Leave your jewelry at home and beware of pickpockets.

In 1883 this 40-acre plot of rain forest was designated an ecological reserve. Nowadays it has an aquarium and two amusement parks as well as natural caverns, a variety of animals (some in the wild), and mammoth trees.

Tricky access has ensured that this breathtaking beach and its associated self-sustaining fishing village have remained remote. The village and its neighbor, Vila do Céu, are about a 45-minute drive (19 km/11 miles) north of Soure. You can also access both communities by boat, crossing the river that rounds Praia Pesqueiro by canoe and then walking the remaining distance.

One of the island's most important ports, Camará is where many boats from Belém dock. Buses to Camará pass by the riverside in Soure regularly.

Prodigious architect Antônio Landi finished this small octagonal church in 1777. It was completely restored in 2013 and is considered the city's purest example of baroque architecture and the country's first octagonal church.

Built originally in 1695 by Carmelite missionaries, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception (also called Igreja Matriz) burned down in 1850 and was reconstructed in 1878. It's a simple, predominantly neoclassical structure with a bright, colorful interior.

In 1755 Bolognese architect Antônio José Landi, whose work can be seen throughout the city, completed this cathedral's construction on the foundations of an older church. Carrara marble adorns the rich interior, which is an interesting mix of baroque, colonial, and neoclassical styles. The high altar was a gift from Pope Pius IX.

One of the largest sites for cave paintings dating 10,000–12,000 years ago is in Monte Alegre. Thousands of cave paintings can be seen in the hills behind town in the area called Serra da Lua. Hire a cab or a mototaxi to take you to the closest ones, about an hour away.

To learn more about Santarém's culture and history, head for the Centro Cultural João Fona. This small museum has a hodgepodge of ancient ceramics, indigenous art, and colonial-period paintings and a library for more in-depth studies. It also houses the Secretary of Tourism.

Next to Ver-o-Peso market on the river, three former warehouses have been artfully converted into a commercial–tourist area. All have one wall of floor-to-ceiling glass that provides a full river view when dining or shopping. The first is a convention center with a cinema and art exhibits. The second has shops and kiosks selling crafts and snacks, and the third has a variety of restaurants and bars. Live-music performances take place regularly. The buildings are air-conditioned and connected by glass-covered walkways and contain photos and artifacts from the port's heyday. A stroll outside along the docks provides a grand view of the bay. Tourist boats arrive and depart at the dock, making it a good place to relax both day and night.

The top man-made attraction in Macapá also happens to be Brazil's largest fort. Completed in 1782 after 18 grueling years, Fortaleza de São José de Macapá is constructed of stones brought from Portugal as ship ballast. The well-preserved buildings house a visitor center, an art gallery, a meeting room, and a dance-music recital room.

Founded January 12, 1616, this fort is considered Belém's birthplace. From here the Portuguese launched conquests of the Amazon and watched over the bay. The fort's role in the region's defense is evidenced by massive English- and Portuguese-made cannons pointing out over the water. They are poised atop fort walls that are three yards thick in places. Recent renovations unearthed more than two-dozen cannons, extensive military middens from the moat, and native Tupi artifacts. A small museum of prefort indigenous cultures is at the entrance. Just outside the fort, cobblestone walkways hug the breezy waterfront.

Another of Belém's baroque creations, this church is notable for its pink color and convex facade. The shell dates from the 17th century, and the rest attributed to Antônio Landi's restoration. It's part of a complex that includes the Convento dos Mercedários, which has served both as a convent and a prison, though not simultaneously.

With its charcoal-gray exterior and medieval style, this neoclassical church (circa 1888) seems foreboding. Its interior, however, is luminous and uplifting, with white Italian marble, stained-glass windows, and beautiful ceiling paintings. The church has a tower on only one side. No one is sure why this is so, but if you ask, you may get one of several explanations: the second tower wasn't built because of lack of funds; it was omitted as a symbolic gesture to the poor; or the ship with materials for its construction sank. As you stroll through the church plaza, note the black-and-white Portuguese granite patterns at your feet. They are said to represent Manaus's meeting of the waters.

Roughly 23 km (14 miles) southwest of Soure, the small beach-village of Joanes was the island's first settlement. Poke around the ruins of a 16th-century Jesuit mission blown up by the Portuguese when they expelled the order from the area, bask on a beach, and have a meal in one of the town's seafood restaurants. A taxi from Soure costs about R$60 round-trip.

The Marco Zero do Equador is a modest monument to the equatorial line that passes through town. Although it consists of only a tall, concrete sundial and a stripe of red paint along the equator, there's a distinct thrill to straddling the line or hopping between hemispheres. The soccer stadium across the street uses the equator as its centerline. From Macapá's outdoor bus terminal on Rua Antônio Coelho de Carvalho, a block from the fort, catch the bus labeled "b. novo/universidade" to the Marco Zero, a 20-minute ride.

In Santarém, for about 5½ miles, the beautiful, aquamarine Rio Tapajós floats next to the murkier waters of the Amazon, until the larger river finally absorbs it. Seeing the Meeting of the Waters here is breathtaking. It's best viewed from the Praça Mirante do Tapajós, on the hill in the center of town and just a few blocks from the waterfront.

The permanent collection of furniture and paintings at this museum dates from the 18th century through the rubber boom. The museum is housed in the Palácio Antônio Lemos (circa 1883), a municipal palace built in the imperial Brazilian style with French influences.