Manaus

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Manaus, Amazonia, Brazil, Aerial View

The name Manaus is a reference to the Indian manaos, who lived there.

During many years, the city lived almost isolated. However, from the 19th century, the growth of the international commerce of rubber, whose raw material was extracted from native rubber trees of the forest, Manaus started to be attractive to the businessmen from all over the world.

On the end of the 19th century, the wealth produced by the exportation of rubber financed the construction, in the middle of the tropical forest, of luxurious buildings that reproduced the architectural styles that were in the high European fashion. On one of the major symbol of the economic development from that period, the Teatro Amazonas (Amazonas Theater), there were exhibitions of famous European opera companies.

Then, time passed and rubber lost most of its importance on the global economy and Manaus fortunes disappeared.

Currently, Manaus receives tourists from all over the world attracted by the Amazon Forest, whose ecosystem has one of the major biodiversities on the planet. The hotels in the jungle on that region make possible to acquaint with the exuberance of the untouched tropical forest. The city is the start of several excursions, as one that takes the tourists to see the junction of Rio Negro and Solimoes where the warmer, dark waters of Rio Negro do not mix for kilometers with the muddy cooler waters of Rio Solimoes.

On the city center, the visitor can see historic buildings and museums about Amazon river region. On Mercado Municipal (Municipal Market), there are local and Indian craft shops. The regional cookery is based on fish of the region and exotic fruit very frequently utilized for preparing juices and ice creams.

Teatro Amazonas (Amazon Theater)
Inaugurated in 1896, the major part of the material utilized on its construction was imported from Europe. Pieces of cast iron and the glass roof of the cupola were imported from France, and the mirrors from Italy. The Italian Domenico de Angelis painted the beautiful panels that decorate the ceilings of the auditorium and of the audience chamber. The capacity of the theater is 700 people, 450 in staterooms and 250 on the audience.

The Museu do Indio (Indian Museum) exhibits objects from tribes on the region, as utensils in ceramics and ceremonial adornments. The Museu de Ciencias Naturais da Amazonia (Natural Sciences Museum of Amazon) has a collection of covered with hay animals, mainly the great diversity of insects springs. On the aquarium of the museum, it's possible to see samples of pirarucu, the biggest fish on the region. Urban parks, like Bosque da Ciencia, the Zoo and the Botanical Garden offer good samples of the Amazon fauna and flora.

Hotels in the jungle
The best option to those who want to feel the sensation of spending some days in the Amazon forest. Constructed on the sides of rivers or on floating bases, they offer rustic installations integrated to the nature.