Amazon Tips

Don’t go overboard with medication and vaccinations. For the most part, you’re no more likely to get sick in the Amazon than anywhere else. Malaria is extremely rare, except in very remote areas, but a yellow fever shot is a good precaution.

With its indigenous influences, Amazonian fare is Brazil’s most unique cuisine. Street vendors in many cities sell tacacá, a spicy soup made with tapioca, dried shrimp and tucupí sauce (extracted from manioc). Ask a local to suggest a clean and reliable kiosk and try it. Regional fish, like tambaquí and pirarucu, are prepared in several ways. Another specialty is a duck stew called “pato no tucupi.” The pirarucu, nicknamed the codfish of the Amazon, is good as a grilled fillet.

Even though it’s hot, long pants and even long-sleeve shirts are recommended on jungle outings lest the bugs chew you up. A good pair of boots is also advised. Some locals prefer cheap rubber fishing boots to expensive hiking boots. Sunglasses and hats are also useful.

Don’t forget the insect repellent and sunscreen.

It is illegal to take live animals, and many products made from animals, outside the country. This includes many Indian feather headdresses. You can help protect endangered species by reporting anyone who offers to sell you such items to the Brazilian Network to Combat the Trafficking of Wild Animals: (www.renctas.org.br/en/informese/denuncie.asp).

Permits must be obtained by the Bureau of Indigenous Affairs (FUNAI) to visit indigenous reservations. These permits are very difficult to obtain. No reputable tour operator will offer to take you to visit an indigenous tribe. Some companies hire people to dress up in costumes and dance around and shoot bows and arrows for the tourists. If someone offers you such a tour, run in the opposite direction.

Especially in Manaus, the arrival area of the airport is full of unscrupulous tour guides who will offer to show you around. Only hire guides through reputable Brazilian or international companies.

If you want to save the rainforest, start by giving your travel business to tour operators that act responsibly. For instance, visit the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve or take one of the smaller boat trips instead of a cruise ship. The Brazilian Sustainable Tourism Certification Program has compiled a list of responsible travel companies (www.pcts.org.br/brazilfortravelers/home.htm).

The Carnaval-like Parintins Festival takes place during the last weekend in June. Two rival groups compete for the favor of judges in a marathon pageant based on a myth transplanted from the Brazilian Northeast about the death and reincarnation of an ox. Thousands of people converge on Parintins (city of 100,000) for the event. Many visitors sleep in the boats that brought them. Manaus-based Viverde can make arrangements.

No, this is not an aquarium trade show. Generally held in late January, it’s a spectacle akin to the Ox Festival in Parintins. Manaus-based Viverde can make arrangements.

Brazil is the world’s biggest Catholic country, and this event on the second Sunday of October is reputed to be the world’s biggest Catholic celebration. More than a million people flood the streets of the Pará state capital for a procession to honor the Virgin Mary. Many come to “pay back” debts to the Virgin whom they believe has performed a miracle on their behalf.

This festival honoring the Holy Spirit is held throughout Brazil, but the version celebrated in the Guaporé Valley, Rondônia, is unique in that a boat visits all of the region’s communities during a 40-day period in May and June. The Brazilian travel agency Easygoing can make arrangements to visit Rondônia.

This religious and secular festival attracts thousands of visitors every September to an island called Alter-do-Chão, about 19 miles outside of Santarém. The activities reveal a mixture of Portuguese and indigenous influences. The Brazilian travel agency Easygoing can make arrangements to visit Santarém.

Pororoca are fresh-water, long-running tidal waves that are attracting increasing numbers of surfers. In Amapá, the phenomenon kicks in during the full and new moons and is strongest from January through May and in September. In Pará, the biggest waves are in January and February. The Brazilian travel agency Easygoing can make arrangements.