Manaus

Typical houses on stilts, the Amazon, Brazil A small cluster of houses amidst the Amazon Rainforest © Marczokface to face / age fotostock

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Manaus, capital of the state of Amazonas, and the Amazon's port of embarkation, seems dwarfed in the midst of an ocean of greenery. At its centre, the modern city still has a floating port, a reminder of its glorious past in the rubber industry. It is supported by cylinders that rise and fall with the river Negro, and can reach heights of up to 33 ft. The houses in the residential areas are built on stilts. In the centre, Mercado Municipal Adolfo-Lisboa, the art nouveau style municipal market, is where town-dwellers come to buy products from those who live in the forest. The Amazon Theatre, which dates back to 1896, is still a cultural centre today. Its Renaissance style building is side-by-side with Neo-Classical stairs and columns. Upstream from the town, Ponta Negra offers up its white sand beach when the dark waters of the river are at their lowest (from September to March).