Amazonas
The largest state in Brazil, Amazonas covers more territory than France, Spain, Sweden, and Greece. However, it is exceptionally sparsely populated—only two municipalities have more than 100,000 inhabitants: Manaus, the capital, and Parintins.
The state’s name is, of course, a reference to the great river—the biggest in the world in terms of volume—that traverses it. The story behind the name is that the Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana chose it in 1541 after he travelled its entire length and fought against a fearsome female warrior tribe that reminded him of the mythical Greek Amazons, thus inspiring the name “Río de las Amazonas. “
Later, in 1850, Amazonas became an official Brazilian province when it was separated from the then-territorial Grão-Pará. In the 19th century, the state gained fame thanks to its central role in developing the rubber industry. In the 1900s, the Manaus Duty-Free Zone contributed to the region’s economic development.
Manaus is far and away the state’s leading centre for commerce. It also boasts the Amazonas Theatre, with its colourful enamelled ceramic dome, and the Ponta Negra and Praia da Lua bathhouses.
Replete with natural attractions and exotic and varied cuisine, the Amazonas is the heart of the Amazon Rainforest—the world’s tropical forest, a highly concentrated and valuable bio-diverse area of the planet. Fine hotels nestled in the jungle but close to the capital are an excellent way of setting off on a mission to discover the local fauna and flora.
The famous Encontro das Águas, the confluence of the two rivers (Negro and Solimões), is another top attraction.
100 kilometres from Manaus, not far from the municipality of Novo Airão, lies one of the largest fluvial archipelagos in the world: Anavilhanas. There, 400 islands make up one of the Amazon’sAmazon’sunning vistas.
Amazonas also encourages mountain tourism: Brazil’s highest point, the Pico da Neblina, is in this state.
Amazonense culture revolves around the traditional Boi-Bumbá festival, which takes place in June in Parintins, 325 km from Manaus.
The state of Amazonas is a gigantic and thoroughly Brazilian region, full of culture and natural delights. It is indisputably one of the planet’s most exotic and extraordinary places.
