Rio Negro (Manaus Region)

Rio Tapajós (Santarém)

Amazon cuisine features unique freshwater fish species including the enormous pirarucu, tucunaré (peacock bass), and tambaqui prepared in traditional ribeirinho (riverside community) style. Indigenous influences add exotic fruits like açaí, cupuaçu, and bacuri to the menu. Manaus restaurants range from traditional riverside cooking to contemporary Amazonian fusion cuisine reflecting the region's growing culinary reputation.

Tropical Hotel Manaus

Hotel Villa Amazônia

Hotel Barrudada

Pousada Vila de Alter

The Amazon Basin offers one of the world's most unique and adventurous freshwater diving experiences in the planet's largest river system. Rio Negro near Manaus provides black-water diving with remarkable visibility of 8-10 metres through tannin-stained waters, encounters with pink river dolphins from the surface (no in-water interaction permitted), huge pirarucu and arapaima fish, and eco-dives in flooded forest during the high water season. Rio Tapajós near Santarém offers clear green waters with pink dolphins, giant catfish, freshwater stingrays, and a completely different aquatic ecosystem. The diving is highly specialised with very limited operators making it an expedition-style adventure rather than a typical dive holiday. The flooded forest experience during high water (January-June) when divers can swim among submerged trees and vegetation is unlike anything else on earth. The Amazon Basin represents the ultimate frontier for freshwater diving enthusiasts seeking extraordinary biodiversity in one of the planet's most important ecosystems.

Amazon Basin (Freshwater Expedition Diving)

Fly to Manaus (MAO) for Rio Negro diving or Santarém (STM) for Rio Tapajós. Manaus has direct flights from São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Brasília. Dive operators are based in the cities with boat transfers to the dive sites on the rivers. Some remote sites require multi-day liveaboard-style expedition boats.

Dive Sites in Amazon Basin (Freshwater Expedition Diving)

Rio Negro (Manaus Region)

Rio Tapajós (Santarém)