Brazil · Amazon
Manaus
A rubber-boom opera house deep in the Amazon, with the rainforest starting at the city's edge.
Manaus is the capital of Amazonas, a river port of two million people in the middle of the rainforest, reached by air or river rather than by any reliable road from the south. Rubber-boom fortunes built the domed Teatro Amazonas, and just downstream the dark Rio Negro meets the sandy Solimoes at the Meeting of the Waters, the two flowing side by side for kilometres before mixing. Most visitors spend a day or two in the city, then head upriver to a jungle lodge.
Suggested stay
3–6 days
Language
Portuguese
Currency
BRL
Timezone
UTC-4
Why you'll love Manaus
The opera house the Teatro Amazonas, with its tiled dome and European fittings, is the boldest monument to the rubber boom
The rivers black Rio Negro and coffee-coloured Solimoes meet below the city and refuse to blend for kilometres
Jungle on the doorstep lodges up the Rio Negro offer canoe trips, caiman spotting at night and stays with riverside communities
River food tambaqui and pirarucu from the market, tacaca in the evening and tucuma fruit on breakfast sandwiches
Best time to visit
May-Oct
Wet easing · 32-34° days
3.132° S, 59.983° W
UTC-4 · America/Manaus
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Weather & when to go to Manaus
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best May-Oct
Conditions Jan-Feb Wet · Mar Wettest · Apr High water · May Wet easing · Jun Low water · Jul Dry, wildlife · Aug Driest · Sep Dry · Oct Warming · Nov Wet building · Dec Wet
Watch for Dec-Apr monsoon flooding risk
Cards tinted by verified verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Manaus
No month is one to avoid outright. The wetter half, roughly December to April, brings heavy daily downpours and thick humidity, though rising water then carries canoes into the flooded forest, fullest around June. Late in the dry season the rivers drop, river beaches appear and some shallow channels and lodge routes can be harder to reach.
Top things to do in Manaus
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Teatro Amazonas - the rubber-boom opera house
history culture arts 👍 PopularOpened in 1896 with marble, glass and ironwork shipped from Europe and a dome of glazed tiles in the colours of the Brazilian flag. Guided tours show the painted ceilings and ballroom, and the house still stages opera and concerts.
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Meeting of the Waters - where the Negro meets the Solimoes
nature wildlife scenic 👍 PopularBoats run out from the port to the point where the warm, dark Rio Negro and the cooler, silty Solimoes flow side by side for kilometres before blending into the Amazon. Most trips add Lago Janauari and its giant water lilies.
-
Rio Negro jungle lodges - canoes, caimans and piranhas
nature wildlife adventure ⭐ Highly recommendedTwo to four nights at a lodge upriver is the reason most people come. Days mix canoe trips through flooded forest, piranha fishing, jungle walks with local guides, caiman spotting by torchlight and visits to riverside communities.
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Mercado Adolpho Lisboa - the iron market on the river
history foodAn 1880s market hall with ironwork shipped from Europe, inspired by Paris's old Les Halles. Inside and around it are stalls of river fish, Amazonian fruits, manioc flour, medicinal herbs and guarana.
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MUSA, Museu da Amazonia - a tower above the canopy
nature wildlife ⭐ Highly recommendedTrails through the Adolpho Ducke forest reserve on the city's northern edge lead to a tall steel observation tower that climbs above the treetops, with views across unbroken rainforest. Go early for birds.
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Bosque da Ciencia - manatees and giant otters
nature wildlifeThe forest park of INPA, Brazil's national Amazon research institute, keeps Amazonian manatees and giant otters, and squirrel monkeys and agoutis wander free along its shaded paths.
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Palacio Rio Negro - a rubber baron's mansion
historyBuilt for a German rubber trader and later the seat of the state government, the palace is now a cultural centre whose period rooms show how the boom-era elite lived.
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Ponta Negra - river beach and sunset promenade
scenic 👍 PopularA long beach on the Rio Negro west of the centre, with a promenade, an amphitheatre and kiosks. Locals gather here at dusk, and the sand grows wide when the river falls.
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Amazonian food - tacaca, tambaqui and x-caboquinho
foodTacaca, a hot tucupi broth with jambu leaves that numb the lips and dried shrimp, is sold from evening stalls around the Largo de Sao Sebastiao. Grilled tambaqui ribs, pirarucu and the tucuma-and-cheese x-caboquinho round it out.
Best areas to stay in Manaus
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Centro
First-time visitors $Belle epoque squares around the opera house
Explore hotels in Centro →
Ponta Negra
Comfort and views $$$Riverfront towers and beach promenade
Explore hotels in Ponta Negra →
Adrianopolis
Food and nightlife $$Leafy, modern district of restaurants and malls
Explore hotels in Adrianopolis →
Rio Negro jungle lodges
Rainforest stays $$Floating and stilted lodges in the forest
Explore hotels in Rio Negro jungle lodges →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Manaus
Getting to & around Manaus
Getting there
Fly into Manaus, about 30-40 minutes by taxi to the centre; there is no reliable road from southern Brazil
Flight
Eduardo Gomes International Airport (MAO)
The airport sits on the northern edge of the city. Taxis and ride-hailing apps reach the Centro or Ponta Negra in roughly 30-40 minutes, and city buses run toward the centre.
Ferry
Manaus port, Centro
Slow hammock-deck riverboats link Manaus with Santarem and Belem downstream and Tabatinga upstream on the Colombian and Peruvian border, a trip of several days
Drive
The BR-174 runs north to Boa Vista and the Venezuelan border; the road south to Porto Velho is largely unpaved and often impassable in the wet season
Getting around
Walking
The historic centre is compact, but heat and humidity make early mornings and evenings the time to walk
Free
Taxi and ride-hailing
The easiest way between the centre, Ponta Negra and the airport, and the safe choice after dark
TBC
City bus
A large network covers the sprawling city, but routes are hard to follow without local help
TBC
Boat
Tour boats and lodge transfers leave from the port and from Ponta Negra; most excursions include the boat
TBC
Day trips from Manaus
Meeting of the Waters and Lago Janauari
Half dayRiver confluence
Watch the black and brown rivers run side by side, then continue to Lago Janauari for giant Victoria water lilies, floating houses and short walks on raised boardwalks into the forest.
Getting there
tour | ferry
About 30-60 min by tour boat from the port
Presidente Figueiredo
Full dayWaterfalls and caves
A small town set among dozens of waterfalls, sandstone caves and swimming holes in the forest, a cooler, greener break from the city with short trails between the falls.
Getting there
car | tour
About 2 hr north by car or tour on the BR-174
Anavilhanas and Novo Airao
1-2 daysRiver archipelago
Hundreds of forested islands braid the Rio Negro in one of the largest freshwater archipelagos on earth. Novo Airao is known for the floating platform where pink river dolphins come close.
Getting there
car | tour | ferry
About 3 hr by car or tour over the Rio Negro bridge, then by boat
Rio Negro jungle lodges
2 daysRainforest stay
Even a single night upriver changes the trip: dawn on the water, howler monkeys calling, a canoe through flooded forest and a night search for caimans along the banks.
Getting there
ferry | car | tour
1-4 hr by boat, road or both, usually arranged by the lodge
A little history of Manaus
The Portuguese built a small fort near the mouth of the Rio Negro in 1669 to stake their claim on the upper Amazon. The settlement around it grew slowly and was later named Manaus after the Manao people, who had lived along the river before the Portuguese arrived.
Everything changed with rubber. From the late 19th century the world's demand for latex made Manaus one of the richest cities in South America, with electric lighting, trams, a floating port and the Teatro Amazonas. When rubber grown from Amazon seeds in British Asian plantations undercut wild rubber in the 1910s, the city went into a long decline. A Free Trade Zone created in 1967 brought factories and growth, and Manaus is now one of Brazil's largest cities.
Portuguese fort of Sao Jose da Barra do Rio Negro founded
The town takes the name Manaus, after the Manao people
Henry Wickham ships Amazon rubber seeds to Kew, seeding Asian plantations
The iron market hall later named for Adolpho Lisboa opens on the river
Teatro Amazonas opens at the height of the rubber boom
Asian plantation rubber collapses the price and the boom ends
The Manaus Free Trade Zone is created
The Rio Negro bridge opens, linking the city to the far bank
Arena da Amazonia hosts World Cup matches
Know before you go
Payment
Cards everywhere
English
Limited
Wifi
Workable
Power
Type C / N
127/220 V, 60 Hz
Dialing
+55
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FAQs about Manaus
▸ When is the best time to visit Manaus?
May to October has the best weather, with fewer downpours. Early in that window the river is at its highest and canoes glide through flooded forest; later it falls and river beaches appear. The rest of the year is wetter and muggier but still workable.
▸ How many days do I need in Manaus?
One or two days covers the Teatro Amazonas, the market and the Meeting of the Waters. Add two to four nights at a jungle lodge, which is where the Amazon experience really happens.
▸ Can I see pink river dolphins from Manaus?
Yes. Several Rio Negro tours and lodges include dolphin stops, and Novo Airao, a few hours away, is known for its floating platform where pink river dolphins come close.
▸ Do I need any vaccinations for Manaus?
Yellow fever vaccination is commonly recommended for the Amazon region, and insect repellent matters at lodges. Check with a travel clinic well before you go for current advice.
▸ Is Manaus safe for visitors?
The main sights around the Largo de Sao Sebastiao feel relaxed by day and into the evening. Like most large Brazilian cities it has petty crime, so keep valuables out of sight and use taxis or ride-hailing at night rather than walking empty streets.
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