Amazon rainforest

Amazon rainforest, Peru

A sunrise over the green canopy of the Amazon rainforest as seen from the prow of a riverboat.

The largest tropical rainforest on Earth, a slow green world of rivers, flooded forest and living communities, best entered by boat.

The place

The Amazon rainforest covers most of the Amazon basin in South America, a region shared by nine countries. Most of the forest lies within Brazil, with large areas in Peru and Colombia and smaller stretches in several neighbouring nations. Its size is hard to hold in the mind. It is the largest and most biodiverse tropical rainforest in the world, and it makes up over half of what remains of the planet's rainforests. About 34 million people live across the basin.

Rather than a single wall of green, the basin is a mosaic. Seasonally flooded forest rises and falls with the rivers, while higher ground stays dry. Wide, brown rivers carry silt down from the Andes, whereas darker, slower blackwater rivers run stained by plant acids. Canopy trees tower over a dim understorey, and the air stays warm and wet for much of the year.

Most journeys start in river cities such as Manaus in Brazil or Iquitos in Peru, then continue by boat or small plane into the forest. Life here runs on the water: fishing villages, riverside farms and families who read the seasons better than any guidebook. The forest is best understood slowly, from a canoe, at dusk, with a guide who can name the birds you cannot see.

Its story

People have lived in the Amazon for at least 11,200 years, according to evidence from a rock shelter excavation in Brazil. Over time they built settlements along the forest's edges and reshaped parts of it with fields and orchards. For a long time scholars assumed the poor soils could support only small populations, but recent work has overturned that view. Sites in what is now eastern Ecuador, along with large coastal settlements, point to dense and organised societies.

Estimates of the population at the start of the sixteenth century vary widely, but several million people is a common figure, living in coastal towns and inland villages alike. Francisco de Orellana, a Spanish conquistador, was the first European recorded to descend the river's full course, in 1542. His accounts of large settled communities were once dismissed as exaggerated, yet newer research suggests he may have been describing real places. Diseases carried from Europe, smallpox among them, are thought to have devastated these societies within a few generations, and forest may have reclaimed their abandoned fields.

In the twentieth century the British explorer Percy Fawcett searched for traces of a lost civilisation in the Amazon. His expeditions produced little conclusive evidence, and he vanished on his final trip, a disappearance that has fed legend ever since. Today the story is one of ongoing contest. Deforestation, mining and cattle ranching press on the forest, while indigenous and riverside communities work to protect their land.

What to see

Culture

Hundreds of distinct peoples live in the Amazon, and daily life follows the rhythm of the rivers. Riverside families, known in Brazil as ribeirinhos, have fished and farmed these banks for generations, and many welcome visitors who understand how local life works. Indigenous communities often govern their own territories and set their own rules about outsiders, including whether visitors may enter at all. Some groups remain largely isolated and have chosen to stay that way. The sensible response is to keep a respectful distance, never seek them out, and report any sighting to local authorities. Visits to communities are usually arranged through a local association, which can explain customs such as gifts, visiting hours and where to sit. Ask before photographing anyone in a village, and never photograph people who have chosen not to be contacted.

What to wear

Traditional dress in the Amazon varies widely between peoples, and much of it is worn on ceremonial occasions rather than every day. Many communities have used plant fibres, cotton, feathers, seeds and beads, and body painting with natural dyes such as urucum, a red pigment from the annatto seed, remains part of ceremonies in some villages. Riverside communities have long worn practical cotton clothing suited to heat and work on the water.

What people wear now is largely everyday clothing: t-shirts, shorts, long trousers, cotton shirts, rubber boots for wet ground and sun hats. Football shirts are common in Brazilian river towns, and many young people in Manaus and Iquitos dress much like their counterparts in the cities.

A visitor should dress for heat, humidity and insects. Light, quick-drying long sleeves and trousers help against mosquitoes and scratches, and a hat and rain layer make sense in every season. Closed, sturdy shoes suit muddy trails, and many lodges supply rubber boots. Modest clothing is appreciated in villages, and swimwear belongs near the water, not in the town centres.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. July to October, when water is lower and trails, beaches and sandbanks are easier to reach. January to May brings high water, when boats reach flooded forest but some paths are underwater. Humidity is high all year.

How long. 5–7

Getting there. Fly to Manaus in Brazil or Iquitos in Peru, then continue by riverboat or small plane, with the final leg usually by boat.

Budget. high

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources