| Page Views: 913 Last Visit to Manaus: October, 2001 | Gateway to the Amazon by toonsarah - last update: Jan 25, 2008 |
Manaus is the gateway to the Amazonian rainforest for most visitors, but also has some attractions of its own. It is most famous for its impressive 1896 opera house, which has staged performances by many of the world’s greats, such as Caruso and Pavlova. It also has some lovely colonial buildings although the overall impression is of rather faded grandeur.
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| Approaching the Meeting of the Waters |
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The Amazon created Manaus. It began as a small fort, São José da Barra, created in 1669 by Portuguese settlers as a defence against Spanish incursions into Brazil by way of the Amazon River. By the late 19th century it was a rubber boomtown. The plantation owners became extravagantly wealthy and the city prospered. Immigrants from northeastern Brazil, fleeing drought and poverty, flooded the city, seeking riches in the rubber trade. In the 1920s the development of synthetic rubber and the growth of plantations in Southeast Asia caused a drastic plunge in the price of rubber, and Manaus declined into poverty.
The river flows through the heart of Manaus, and very near the town you can see a striking sight known as the Meeting of the Waters, where the black waters of the Negro River meet the brown waters of the Solimoes River, and flow side by side without mixing for about nine kilometres.
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We only stayed here overnight after our Amazon excursion, but we found it a good place to buy a few basics (I’d run out of underwear!), and enjoyed wandering the streets in the city centre with its attractive old houses.
Our visit was some years ago now. I’ve done my best to check that all my info is up to date but I appreciate things may have changed. Please do let me know if you spot any errors or discover changes that I should correct.
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| In A Nutshell: | "An obvious base for rainforest tours, but worth a little time in its own right" |
toonsarah's Manaus Travel Tips
| Overview | Things to Do
Tips: 4 - Photos: 9 | | | | Restaurants | Hotels & Accommodations
Tips: 1 - Photos: 2 | | | | Nightlife | Off The Beaten Path | | | | Tourist Traps | Warnings Or Dangers | | | | Transportation | Local Customs | | | | Packing Lists | Shopping | | | | Sports Travel | General Tips |
 Comments for toonsarah about Manaus | | | | |
Trekki Wed Nov 11, 2009 18:08 UTC
(:-) found a page I didn't know yet :-) Oh wow, this opera house sounds fantastic and of course I also have the Kinski associations :-). And the pavement looks so "Portugese" :-) I would love to see the two waters with my own eyes :-) | kokoryko Tue Jul 28, 2009 21:51 UTC
This Opera house in the middle of the forest (at the time) is just incredible; reminds me W. Herzog's, Fitzcarraldo (well, it was further upstream), showing how crazy the dreams turn out in the rain forest. Enjoyed this introduction, go now upstream! :) | calcaf38 Sun Jul 20, 2008 03:48 UTC
Great Page, Sarah. Really would like to sail from Manaus to Iquitos some day. And thank you for visiting and rating my Flores page. Guatemala is magic, and I urge you to visit there. | deecat Fri Apr 4, 2008 16:17 UTC
Another interesting page about the gateway to the rain forest. Love your use of detail with such enlightening insights as well as factual descriptions and a few personal experiences...the narrow plank! |
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