Manaus, Brazil | Amazing Animals of the Amazon Rainforest

To be honest, I didn't have high expectations for this two-day weekend rainforest tour at first. After all, the time was so limited that I might not be able to go deep into the rainforest. But after it ended, the experience lingered in my mind for a long time! Since we had already booked a hotel in downtown Manaus, we actually split the tour into a half-day trip and a full-day trip. Both were small groups of 4-6 people, and the total cost was 190 USD. This article will first introduce the itinerary of the first day: Day 1 Morning: ✈️ Arrived in Manaus from São Paulo, this port city in northern Brazil. After checking into the hotel, the driver came to pick us up at 12 o'clock. We met up with the other group members who had visited the indigenous tribe in the morning, and started the day's journey at a unique restaurant on a boat. The tropical fruits were absolutely delicious! 🍍 The guava juice was amazing! 🥤 Day 1 Afternoon: First, we went to see the Victoria amazonica—those huge lily pads are so cool! 🌸 On the way, we saw all kinds of strange plants, as well as huge insect nests on the trees 🐜. The guide told us that these insects would eat up the trees—no wonder the nests are so big! We also had a cute encounter with a little monkey 🐒, and spotted sloths hiding high up in the trees—apparently, they're easy to be caught by humans when they come down from the trees, and you can pay to hold them (so soft-looking! 🦥). Then we went to a place where arapaimas are kept in captivity. We used sticks tied with fish pieces to feed the arapaimas and feel their powerful biting force—so thrilling! 🐟 Day 1 Evening: After a boat tour of the rainforest 🚤, we focused on visiting one of the most famous natural wonders in the Amazon basin—the confluence of two rivers. The Negro River turns dark red during the rainy season because the rising water submerges the rainforests on both banks, and the leaves and branches rot in the water over time. The Solimões River, on the other hand, appears yellow because it contains a lot of white sand. They meet near Manaus, and due to differences in water density and flow speed, they stubbornly refuse to merge—like two stubborn friends who just won't mix! 🌊 When you put your hand into the water, you can even feel the temperature difference between the two rivers—so magical! #AmazonRainforest #Brazil #Manaus #AmazingAnimals #NatureScenery #OffTheBeatenPath #Outdoor