Mamirauá Reserve

Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve, Brazil'S First Of Its Kind, In The Flooded VáRzea Forest Between The SolimõEs And Japurá Rivers; Part Of The Central Amazon Conservation Complex UNESCO World Heritage Site · Tefé, Amazonas

Mamirauá is a large reserve of várzea, forest that floods each year with the silty white water of the Solimões, between that river and the Japurá, far upstream from Manaus. It became Brazil's first sustainable development reserve in 1996, a model in which the riverside families who live there keep fishing and farming while managing the forest and its animals, and it is part of the Central Amazon Conservation Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The water rises by around ten metres over the year, so at high water visitors travel by canoe through the treetops, and at low water they walk the forest floor. The best-known animal is the white uakari, a monkey with a bald red face that lives in these flooded forests, along with pink and grey dolphins, caimans, sloths and many birds. Visits are through a small floating lodge run with local communities, reached by a flight from Manaus to Tefé and then a boat. Guest numbers are small and stays are packages of several nights. It is a specialist trip, slower and more remote than lodges near Manaus, and the fees help fund the reserve.

Reserva Mamirauá, reached from Tefé, AM, Tefé, Amazonas, Brazil

There are no daily opening hours; the reserve is visited only on lodge packages, which run on fixed arrival and departure days with a set number of nights, commonly three or four - confirm the current schedule, which follows the flights to Tefé. Space is limited because the floating lodge has few rooms, so book well ahead, especially for the high-water months. Each day follows the forest: outings start early in the morning, when animals are most active, rest through the midday heat, and resume in the late afternoon, with some night trips for caimans and night birds. Everything is guided and in small groups. The river decides the programme: at high water, roughly May to July, most outings are by canoe through flooded forest, which is the best time for white uakaris, while at low water, roughly September to November, trails reopen on foot and lakes shrink, concentrating fish, birds and caimans. In the transition months the programme mixes both. Flights between Manaus and Tefé are few, may change or be cancelled, and delays happen, so allow a buffer day in Manaus. The lodge has closed in some past periods, including for drought and during the pandemic, so confirm it is operating before planning.

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