How to visit the Brazilian Amazon in Anavilhanas National Park

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Start your trip in Manaus

Manaus is the ideal gateway for your Amazon travel experience . The city is well-connected by air to all major Brazilian cities and also offers boat routes to other Amazonian destinations, such as Belém do Pará. At the time of writing, there were even flights linking Manaus to Panama City. Brazil’s major airlines — LATAM, GOL, and AZUL — operate numerous flights to and from Manaus, particularly connecting it to São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Brasília.

Our original plan was to spend two days in Manaus before diving deeper into the Amazon with visits to both Amazonas and Para. However, Manaus had recently been the epicenter of a significant wave of the global virus outbreak of 2020-2021. Just two days before our departure, we faced a tough dilemma: cancel the trip or proceed as planned?

It wasn’t an easy decision, but after carefully evaluating the situation, we chose to adapt. We decided to skip Manaus entirely and head straight to Anavilhanas National Park in Novo Airão for our Amazon adventure. Fortunately, the Airbnb we had booked in Novo Airão was available for a few extra days!

We departed from São Paulo Congonhas towards Manaus, with a stopover in Brasília. There are direct flights to Manaus from Guarulhos' airport, but we decided to leave from Congonhas and make a stopover. We arrived very late at night in Manaus, slept in the city and the next day we left early towards Novo Airão.

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Where to stay in Manaus

We stayed at Hotel Chez Les Rois Guesthouse, a very basic (and I mean basic) budget-friendly option. Since it was only for one night, it served its purpose just fine. However, for a longer stay, I’d only consider returning if I couldn’t afford something better.

If you’re looking for other options, I found a few promising ones in the city center. Hotel Villa Amazônia is a great choice, especially if you’re planning to stay in Manaus for a few days, as it has a fantastic swimming pool. Juma Opera, one of the city’s top hotels, is also an excellent option and is conveniently located right next to the iconic Teatro Amazonas.

Like other large Brazilian cities, Manaus has several major hotel chains. Among the ones that seemed to offer good value for money, Intercity Manaus and Quality Hotel Manaus stood out. Both are part of chains where we’ve had positive experiences in the past.

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Novo Airão – Anavilhanas National Park

Novo Airão is a small town on the right bank of the Rio Negro, where tourism has become one of the main activities. . he town itself has a very simple infrastructure, preserving that characteristic uniquiness of small countryside Brazilian towns.

Anavilhanas is the second largest river archipelago in the world, with over 400 islands. The National Park, established in 1981, covers more than 3,5 square kilometers of Amazon forest.

With its white sand beaches, rivers, forests, shade, and fresh water, the Amazon is, for me, one of the most special places in Brazil. Beyond incredible experiences, this type of immersive tourism allows for a deep connection with nature while teaching us to respect it.

The water of the Rio Negro — true to its name "Black River" — is very dark, but it’s clean and has a delightful temperature. Thanks to its acidic pH, the water doesn’t favor mosquito breeding. Believe it or not, we didn’t see a single mosquito during our time in this region!

How to get to Novo Airão – Anavilhanas National Park

The journey from Manaus to Novo Airão takes about 2 hours by car or around 30 hours on a traditional wooden boat typical of the region . The boat trip is an overnight adventure where each passenger brings their own hammock to sleep in — a true Amazon experience! However, we prioritized comfort and chose to drive.

Another option is taking a speedboat, which takes about three hours.

For a more scenic approach, you can opt for a seaplane, which takes around 50 minutes. They say the aerial view of the forest is breathtaking, and I can only imagine how amazing it would be to take a scenic flight through the forest.

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Where to Stay in Anavilhanas National Park

Novo Airão offers accommodations to suit every style, taste, and budget.

There are boutique jungle hotels — the kind you see in glossy ads and celebrity posts that make you swoon. Naturally, when I checked prices, they matched the five-star, Tarzan-level sophistication of these immersive forest retreats. In other words, well beyond our budget.

But if you’re up for splurging or catch a great deal, staying a few days in these boutique jungle hotels would be a spectacular experience. Check out the Mirante do Gavião and the Anavilhanas Jungle Lodge and tell me they aren’t the stuff of dreams!

For more budget-friendly options, downtown Novo Airao has some great places. Pousada Bela Vista is right on the banks of the Rio Negro, close to the center, and Local Hostel Novo Airão seems perfect for budget travelers. Amazonia Park Suites is a bit farther from downtown but appears to have the best amenities among them and offers great value for money.

We stayed at an incredible Airbnb (search for “Casa Madadá” from Amazon Best). From the outside, it looks like a typical Amazonian house, but inside, it’s beautifully decorated, modern, well-equipped, and has all the amenities you could ask for. The support team was excellent and attentive, and, of course, the Wi-Fi was great.

One advantage of staying in the city (including our Airbnb) is the good cell phone reception (at the time, only Claro had coverage; others worked via roaming). In the jungle hotels, you’ll only find Wi-Fi.

NOTE: When I was researching accommodations for this trip, I found other jungle hotels in even more remote locations—deep in the jungle—where there’s no cell phone signal, and Wi-Fi is radio-based, available only for a few hours a day in certain areas of the hotel. If internet access is essential for you, be sure to research and talk to the hotel before booking.

Take advantage and search for accommodation in the Brazilian Amazon, just fill in the fields in the table below

When to visit the Amazon?

Anavilhanas National Park is open year-round, offering unique experiences in every season.

During the dry season (September to February), you can enjoy the stunning white sand beaches that emerge throughout the archipelago.

From March to August, during the high-water season (with the peak in June-July), the beaches vanish, and the highlight shifts to boat trips through the flooded forests, known as igapós—these areas are often called “enchanted forests” for a reason!

We visited the Amazon in January, at the end of the dry season.. While many beaches were already submerged, we still managed to enjoy a few — Camaleão beach was our favorite.

In the late afternoons, after returning from boat trips, we’d head to Orla beach in Novo Airão, conveniently located right in front of our Airbnb.

Initially, I hesitated—was this dark water really clean? But then I thought, “Where else can you swim in a river like this?” So, I took the plunge, and after that, I couldn’t stop. The water is absolutely delightful—trust me!

Looking back, I think we were lucky. We got to experience the best of both seasons.

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What is the weather like in the Amazon in January?

The Amazon is hot and humid year-round, but between June and November, it tends to be a bit less rainy. During our January trip, we experienced daily rain showers, but they were brief—starting and stopping quickly, never interfering with our activities. We got rained on everywhere: on the boat, at the beach, walking around the city, even at home — but it never put a damper on our trip. 😉

Is it hot? Yes, very. Is it humid? Absolutely. Is it worse than Rio de Janeiro in the summer? Not at all! In fact, I found Rio much hotter than the Amazon. So, get ready for some serious heat — the sun is strong, but there’s a nice breeze, and the daily rain helps cool things down. Honestly, I felt hotter in Rio than I did in the Amazon.

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Is it difficult to visit the Amazon?

One of the most common questions I get is: Is it difficult to visit the Brazilian Amazon?

The answer is no — it’s not difficult, it is not a hassle at all! Even on a independent trip like ours, we didn’t face any troubles. It was a really confortable trip.

Of course, it depends on your personal definition of comfort and how much you’re willing to spend.

If you opt for a seaplane and stay in one of the boutique jungle hotels, I guarantee it will be the trip of a lifetime, no matter how picky you are.

But if you’re a mere mortal like us, I can say this: The car trip from Manaus to Novo Airão is smooth, the town offers accommodation to suit evety taste, the food is delicious, the tours are well-organized, and Novo Airao, while simple, has everything you need.

In short, “trouble” and "hassle" were a words that never crossed our minds during the trip.

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Where to Eat in Novo Airao

Unfortunately, at the time we went to the Brazilian Amazon, the bars and restaurants in Novo Airão were only open for take-out, which didn't stop us from discovering the delights of typical Amazonian food.

As we were in a super comfortable and pleasant house, we opted for delivery from local restaurants.

We ordered nearly every meal from Sabor do Sul Restaurant, which served up delicious regional food! We tried all the main dishes on the menu: the Amazon fishes such as pirarucu, tambaqui and tucunaré, free-range chicken, and more. It’s definitely worth trying if you’re in the area.

Another highly recommended spot was Flor do Luar Restaurant, a floating boat over the Rio Negro. Unfortunately, it was closed due to the pandemic, but from the photos, it looks like a very cool and beautiful place to dine.

We also ordered a snack at Saloon Ajuricaba, but honestly, what we ordered for lunch usually lasted through dinner too😊

Novo Airão even has a microbrewery, Sarapó Cervejas Amazônicas , and of course, we couldn’t resist trying the local beer (they delivered too!). I love sampling local brews when I travel—it’s a great way to immerse yourself in the culture! 🍻

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What to Do in Anavilhanas National Park

The days we spent in Novo Airão, in the Anavilhanas National Park, had a well-defined routine: waking up, breakfast (the housekeeper brought us fresh bread every day and prepared breakfast), taking a boat ride, coming back and having lunch, relax a little, go for a walk and have ice cream in the city, have dinner and enjoy the end of the day in the hammock or on the balcony. Not bad, right? Well, believe me when I say that it is not necessary to spend a lot of money to visit the Amazon without hassle.

There’s plenty to see and do in Novo Airão. No matter the time of year, you can experience the rich Amazonian flora and fauna, take boat trips and jungle trails, swim in the Rio Negro, interact with dolphins at the Flutuante dos botos (river dolphin viewing), visit traditional riverside communities, and during the dry season, relax on the paradisiacal beaches along the Rio Negro that I’ve raved about.

Flutuante dos botos (river dolphin viewing)

Flutuante dos botos (river dolphin viewing) was right in front of our Airbnb, but sadly it was closed due to the pandemic — we were really bummed about not being able to see the dolphin feeding and capture those stunning photos with the animals.

Amazonian dolphins are the largest freshwater dolphins in the world, measuring up to 2,5 meters and weighing 200 kg!

Even though the public wasn’t around, the dolphins, conditioned to visit the spot about eight times a day to feed, continued to frequent the area. So, we connected the dots: dolphins nearby, floating in front of our Airbnb, beach right in front of us = we had the dolphins all to ourselves while enjoying the beach, with total exclusivity. It was just us and the dolphins.

Boat trips on the Rio Negro

The tours on Anavilhanas National Park are all done by boat, and you can choose how you want to explore: whether it’s a contemplative tour, a boat trip with a forest walk to discover giant trees like the samaúma, or an adventure that takes you deeper into the forest to spots like the Grutas do Madadá or the ruins of Velho Airão. You can even embark on a boat expedition to Jaú National Park.

Velho Airão is an old village abandoned by its residents in the 1950s — legend has it due to an ant plague, but it was more likely the decline of the rubber boom in the region.

In any of these tours, one of the most fascinating aspects is appreciating the vegetation: its diversity, the shapes, the thousands of shades of green, and the interaction between the plants and water. With the help of knowledgeable guides, you might even spot a variety of wildlife along the way.

Pedra do Sanduíche and Praia do Camaleão

One day we set out to explore Pedra do Sanduiche, an ancient rock formation that truly resembles a stone sandwich, as if the rocks were carefully stacked by hand. From this intriguing spot, a beautiful trail begins, leading through the forest to the Grutas do Madadá, which are two groups of sandstone blocks that are around 700 million years old. We were a group of four adults and three children (ages 7 to 10), and it took us about one and a half hours to reach the caves and the same time to return.

On our boat ride back, we made a stop at Praia do Camaleão for a well-deserved swim, enjoying the refreshing waters after our hike.

Rio Negro beaches

Another day, we took a boat trip through the igapós (flooded forests), and on another occasion, we sailed through the islands of the archipelago, stopping at Praias do Meio, Folharal, and Paraná da Onça.. There were so many stunning places, channels, islands, and islets that we passed through, each more breathtaking than the last.

If we had one more day, we would have definitely taken another boat trip, as there are countless igapós, islands, and channels, each one more beautiful than the last. I can guarantee that you’ll never run out of reasons to venture out and enjoy the natural beauty of the region.

Night wildlife viewing tour

We also embarked on a night wildlife viewing tour, where we encountered a variety of animals: sloths, alligators, snakes, various birds, and even fish that jumped right into our boat! It was an adventure like no other.

Traditional Amazon communities

Another option is to take a boat trip to visit traditional local communities. However, due to the restriction measures at the time, we were unable to visit them.

Contact information

Our boatmen were Ceará, Zezão, and Euler, all organized by Cilene (+92 9113 2444), from the Novo Airão boatmen association. Whenever possible, I recommend booking your tours directly with local providers, avoiding intermediaries. This way, you ensure that your hard-earned money goes directly into the hands of the local people who make this destination so magical and special

Stay Connected!

Got comments or questions? Feel free to leave a comment here or connect with me on social media—I love chatting about travel 😉.

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