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Arrival in Manaus |
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Manaus
Manaus has a population of 1.5 million people, making it the biggest city for 1500km in every direction. |
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Amazon Jungle
The Amazon Jungle is home to around 20% of the world’s bird species, 10% of the mammals, and an estimated 2.5 million species of insect!
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Amazon River
The 6,387km long Amazon River is the largest river system in the world, containing an estimated 20% of the world’s freshwater. |
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Tropical Hotel
The Tropical Hotel is Brazil’s largest luxury hotel, with 594 rooms on the edge of the Rio Negro. |
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Rio Negro
The Rio Negro is one of the largest tributaries of The Amazon River. The source of the Negro is in Colombia. |
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Manaus Theater
The Amazon Theater was opened in 1896. It was built using local wood and imported marble and steel. The road outside is made of Amazon rubber. |
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Municipal Market
The Adolfo Lisboa Municipal Market is principally made from Art Noveau wrought ironwork, with the design based on Les Halles market in Paris. Almost anything from the Amazon region can be bought here. |
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Freshwater Dolphins
The Amazon River has pink freshwater dolphins which live in only two of the world’s rivers. It is possible to swim with them close to Manaus. |
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Flooded Forests
The flooded forests of the Amazon occur during the high waters after the wet season when the rivers burst their banks. |
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Piranha
Despite the array of razor-sharp teeth, most of the 50 species of piranha found in South America won’t kill humans but they can bite if provoked. |
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Caiman Alligator
There are 4 types of caiman alligator in the Amazon. The black caiman can grow up to 6 meters, but the more common spectacled caiman grows to around 2m. |
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The Meeting of the Waters
The Meeting of the Waters is a bizarre natural phenomenon where two mighty rivers of different colors don’t mix due to variations in temperature, density and speed. |
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Victoria Regina Water Lily
The largest Water Lily in the world grows up to 2m in width and could support a small child! |
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Indian Ritual
Watch the local natives re-enact some of the rituals that their ancestors have been undertaking for thousands of years!. |
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Ariau Amazon Towers
Ariau Amazon Towers is one of the Amazon’s premier jungle lodges. It even has a helicopter landing pad |
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Upon your arrival in Manaus at the heart of the Amazon Rainforest, and you will be met at the airport by one of our representatives and transferred to the Tropical Hotel on the edge of the Rio Negro. The rest of the day is free for you to spend at your leisure. You can get to know Manaus, or you can spend your time enjoying the facilities of Brazil’s largest luxury hotel. With 2 swimming pools, 5 tennis courts, a sauna, a beauty parlor, a shopping arcade, an orchid house, and even a small zoo – spending time in your hotel can be as busy or as relaxed as you wish. In the evening there are 5 bars with live music and shows available, plus 2 restaurants where you can sample some of the river’s 3000 species of fish. |
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Manaus Half Day City Tour |
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After breakfast you will be picked up from the hotel and taken on a half day guided tour of Manaus. The tour takes in the famous Manaus Theater, the Municipal Market, and the Floating Dock. The theater is the symbol of the city and was built during the rubber boom that made the wealth of Manaus. The results of that wealth can be seen in the opulence of the theater; with Italian marble, Scottish wrought iron, and carvings made from Amazon wood, the theater itself is a splendid sight. The Adolpho Lisboa Municipal Market on the edge of the river boasts produce and crafts from all over the Amazon area. You will be transferred back to the Tropical Hotel after the tour finishes. (Meals – B) |
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Manaus to Ariau Amazon Towers |
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You will leave from the hotel pier at 7.30am after an early breakfast for the two hour boat-ride to Ariau Amazon Towers. You may see pink freshwater dolphins swimming in the river before arriving at the lodge for a welcome drink. After lunch, a motorized canoe takes you on a guided tour to visit St Thomas Village to learn how the native people have adapted their lives to suit the conditions and climate of the rainforest. You can also discover the different uses of some of the millions of plant species native to the Amazon, including those used for medicinal, culinary and hunting purposes. Dinner in the evening is a buffet in the lodge restaurant and comes with a fine selection of meat, regional fish and a sample of the huge variety of exotic Amazon fruits and desserts. (Meals – B, L, D)
CAT Tip - Make the most of the trip: Spend your time at Ariau Amazon Towers in luxury amongst the trees by upgrading to a suite or a tree-house. |
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Ariau Amazon Activities |
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After breakfast at the lodge, we head into the Amazon Jungle on a guided trek along the trails around the area. Your expert bilingual guide will show you some of the immense variety of flora and fauna that make up the world’s largest ecosystem, and will also teach you some of the techniques that have enabled people to survive in the dense jungle. You can also learn about the delicate ecological balance that exists in the flooded forests of the Amazon basin. You will also be able to see the trees that give us rubber and chewing gum, both of which originated in the Amazon, before returning to the lodge for lunch. After a morning with possible sightings of monkeys, sloths, macaws, tapirs, toucans as well as encounters with Amazon snakes such as the boa constrictor or the anaconda, the afternoon brings a chance to fish for piranha. There are many different types of piranha, with most being edible sort although not usually as fearsome as they are regularly portrayed. After a spectacular Amazon sunset, a guide will take you on a canoe trip to spot caiman alligators along the edges of the river. The night-time expedition will teach you how to gauge the size of the Amazon’s largest reptile by the reflections from their eyes. You may even get to hold one, but only one of the smaller kind! Dinner is at the lodge. (Meals – B, L, D) |
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Ariau Amazon Lodge |
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With the day free to enjoy the facilities of a world-class jungle lodge or make optional extra excursions from there, you can spend time in one of the tree-top swimming pools or walk, cycle or drive a buggy along the 8km of walkways through the jungle and over the river. The 41m tall observation towers are ideal for wildlife watching in the Rio Negro and the surrounding rainforest. There is a rehabilitation centre at the lodge, housing and caring for animals and birds that have been found injured or orphaned in the jungle. You can also take a look around the museum, which contains paintings and woodcarvings depicting the culture of the original Amazon people. The gym caters for those who wish to keep up their fitness levels while visiting the Amazon Rainforest, while the two restaurants and the bar are also fantastic places to enjoy the ambience of the jungle while being accompanied by some of the creatures from it! Spider and squirrel monkeys, macaws and parrots are all regular visitors to the bar! Extra Trips include a chance to swim with river dolphins, a visit to the Meeting of The Waters or to see the Victoria Regina Lily Pads, watch an Indian Ritual, or take a survival trip into the jungle. Feel free to take a look at our Extra options (Meals – B, L, D)
CAT Tip - Make the most of the trip: Choose to spend an extra day or two on the Amazon River with a package that includes a cruise of 1 or 2 nights. |
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Ariau Amazon to Manaus |
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A bilingual guide will take you on a sunrise tour before breakfast at the lodge. You will be able to marvel at the experience of the colors of an Amazon dawn, but don’t expect a quiet time. The dawn chorus in the Amazon Jungle is like no other. The most diverse ecosystem on the planet has a volume and variety of birdcalls, monkey, amphibian and insect noises that is astonishing. With 20% of the world’s bird species and 2.5 million insect species sheltering under the canopy of the largest rainforest on earth, early morning is always a special time in the Amazon. After lunch at the lodge, there are more chances to see river dolphins or even manatees from the boat that takes you back to Manaus. From the pier, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight home or to elsewhere in Brazil. (B, L)
CAT Tip - Make the most of the trip: Choose to spend an extra night at the Tropical Hotel in Manaus on your return to the city. |
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