Porto Velho
Capital Of RondôNia On The Madeira River, Grown Around The Madeira Mamoré Railway, The 'Devil'S Railway' Built Through The Forest In The Early Twentieth Century At Great Cost In Lives · Porto Velho, Rondônia
Porto Velho is the capital of Rondônia, set on the east bank of the Madeira River, one of the great tributaries of the Amazon. The city grew from the construction camp of the Madeira-Mamoré Railway, built in the early twentieth century through the forest to carry rubber around the rapids of the Madeira and Mamoré rivers toward Bolivia. Thousands of workers from many countries died of disease and accidents during construction, which earned it the name Devil's Railway. The line closed in the early 1970s. Today the old railway yard by the river, with its station buildings, workshops and rusting locomotives, is the heart of the historic area, though restorations, floods and closures have been frequent, so what is open or running changes. Nearby stand the Three Water Tanks, the Caixas d'Água, a city symbol. Upstream, the Santo Antônio and Jirau dams changed the river. Honestly, leisure visitors are few; most people come for work. A day is enough for the railway, a riverside sunset and a meal of tambaqui.
Complexo da Estrada de Ferro Madeira-Mamoré, Porto Velho, RO, Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil
The riverfront by the railway complex is open at all times, but what you can enter inside the Madeira-Mamoré complex varies. The railway museum, workshops and locomotive displays have gone through long closures, flood damage and restorations, and any train rides on the short restored stretch have run only occasionally, often on weekends or special dates - confirm what is open and running before planning around it. Where museum spaces are open, they usually keep daytime hours and may close on Mondays and some holidays. The riverfront is busiest at sunset and on weekend evenings, when bars and kiosks open. The Three Water Tanks can be seen from the street at any time but are not normally entered. River trips on the Madeira are arranged through local boatmen or agencies and depend on river levels, which rise sharply in the rainy season, roughly December to April, and were extreme in the major 2014 flood. Dam visits, where offered, need advance arrangement with the operators - confirm. Markets are busiest in the morning.