The Amazon, Brazil

Travel to the Amazon River, the longest river in the world. It is estimated that one-fifth of the water on planet earth, flows in the Amazon River. Two-thirds of the Amazon can be found in Brazilian territory and Manaus is where the Amazon crosses from the Peruvian to the Brazilian Amazon and is the capital city of the Brazilian Amazonas. The Amazon is formed a few miles downstream where the river Solimoes combines with The Rio Negro and the Amazon River is born. Swim with pink river dolphins and head out into the jungle to go monkey spotting and enjoy this industrial yet tropical paradise. 

Spotting wildlife is near impossible on the Amazon river itself, so any day tour worth its salt will include a trip down some of her smaller rivers and tributaries to get up close and personal with the local fauna. Activities include swimming with river dolphins, fishing for piranha, or just admiring the numerous species of monkey as they swing back and forth between the trees. The pink dolphins are widespread here, however it is important to ensure that they are swimming freely and avoid any forced contact with these amazing animals for future sustainability and their survival.

The Amazon is far more than just a river system. The rainforest it sustains is a vitally important cog in the planet’s biosphere and covers an area of over six million square kilometres. The enormous biodiversity of the Amazon becomes more and more important with increased global warming  and the devastation of trees in other parts of the world. The rainforest is an enormous set ofl ungs for us all and if it is destroyed the implications for global warming as well as biodiversity, hardly bear thinking about.