Manaus, Brazil - Amazon River Cruise Ship Port of Call

Paris of the Tropics and Fascinating South American City

Manaus is a Brazilian city of over 1.5 million people that sits at the junction of the Rio Negro and Solimoes Rivers. These two rivers meet in Manaus and join together to form the Amazon River.

While in Manaus, we did a jungle nature trek shore excursion, went hunting (with a flashlight and a small boat) for caymans in the evening, and toured the city the next day before we went to the airport for the flight home.

Manaus is a fascinating city, and rubber made it the richest city in South America during the late 1800s. Rubber also helped Manaus earn its nickname, the "Paris of the Tropics". Many wealthy European families settled in Manaus and brought their love of sophisticated European art, architecture, and culture with them.

Today Manaus is the largest city on the Amazon, and its population has exploded the last few decades. Today Manaus is also a duty free zone, which has encouraged needed development in this city of rich and poor. Let's take a tour of the city of Manaus, Brazil.