The Amazon rainforest reveals nature beauties and secrets of the Brazilian fauna and flora.
Almost 7 million square kilometers form the Amazon, in nine South American countries: Brazil, Bolívia, Peru, Colômbia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
Cradle of the greatest biodiversity in a rain forest in the world, Amazon attracts tourists from all over the world, offering delights that only nature can reveal. Thousands of species of wild fauna and flora can be seen on this special piece of land which is almost 50% of the whole country.
Adventure never stops in the Amazon jungle, since there are lodgings in the forest. Fishing and exclusive trails through the forest can be accessed directly from a hotel, on a boat that leaves from Manaus, capital of the Amazonas State.
The fascination that involve nature includes visiting indigenous tribes and the possibility to stay overnight in boats, anchored on the Amazon River. For the more demanding when it comes to comfort, there is a cruise option on luxury boats, where lovely Amazon river dolphins and alligators can be seen along the Negro, Ariau and Cuieiras rivers.
Known as the tree of life or queen of the forest, one of the flora species that really catches the attention in the forest is the sumaumeira (kapok tree). The giant tree reaches up to 60 meters high, equivalent to a 20-floor building. The circumference of the base reaches more than 20 meters and their crowns form an “umbrella” that exceeds 100 meters in diameter.
Some highlights of the fauna are the jaguar; puma; airuvê (manatee); tapir (the largest land animal in South America); capybara (the largest rodent in the world); amana (Amazon river dolphin); tucuxi (gray dolphin); ariranha (Brazilian otter); uacari-branco (bald-headed uacari monkey) and sauim-de-coleira (pied tamarin). In the Amazon, you can also check out the biggest freshwater fish in the world, pirarucu. Scary giant species inhabit this special piece of the planet like the constrictor sucuri (anaconda), which surpasses 10 meters; jacaré-açu (black caiman alligator), jiboia (boa constrictor), the very venomous surucucu-pico-de-jaca (bushmaster snake); jacaré-tinga (common caiman alligator) and tartaruga-do-amazonas (South American river turtle).
The bird species impress visitors as well. One of them is the harpy eagle, also called magnificent uiraçu. From top to bottom, its wings reach two meters in length, which gives it the title of largest species of prey on the planet, the “absolute ruler of the Amazon sky”.