Being the main gateway to the Brazilian Amazon — the Meeting of the Waters, boat trips into the rainforest, and a 19th-century rubber-boom downtown built on riches from the forest around it.
Discover Authentic Manaus: A Local Travel Guide by Mercure
Discover Local isn't written by a travel desk in another city — it's the actual shortlist from the team at Mercure Manaus. No rainforest-brochure clichés, just the museum they send guests to on a rainy afternoon and the igarapé they swim in themselves. The Manaus picks below come from people who live at the edge of the Amazon year-round. An interactive map and our most-asked FAQs follow.
Our map pins local favourites such as the Museu da Amazônia, the Tarumã-Açu river and Tambaqui de Banda.
Top 5 Things to Do in Manaus
Museu da Amazônia (MUSA)
A research-forest reserve inside the city, with a canopy tower that puts you above the treeline for a proper view of the rainforest skyline. Trails are short and well marked, guides explain the science in plain language, and it's one of the few places in Manaus where you get real jungle without a boat trip. Go early — the canopy walk gets hot fast.
Parque do Mindu
An urban forest reserve built specifically to protect a population of pied tamarins, a small monkey found nowhere else on Earth outside this region. Suspended walkways run through the canopy at monkey height, and sightings are common if you're quiet in the early morning. It's free, shaded, and an easy stop between hotel and city center.
Igarapé Tarumã-açu
A blackwater creek just outside the city where locals actually go to cool off — floating docks, calm water, and none of the crowds you'd find on the main riverfront. Small boats can take you further upstream into quieter stretches lined with forest. It's the closest thing to a proper Amazon swim without leaving Manaus for the day.
Museu do Seringal Vila Paraíso
A restored 19th-century rubber estate, reachable only by boat, that tells the story of Manaus's rubber-boom fortune and the labour behind it. The wooden manor house and workers' quarters are kept close to original condition, and the river approach is part of the experience. Worth combining with a half-day river excursion.
Caxiri Manaus
A restaurant built around Amazonian ingredients most visitors have never heard of — tucupi, jambu, pirarucu — served in dishes that reinterpret regional staples rather than simplify them for outsiders. The jambu leaf, which produces a light tingling numbness on the tongue, is worth ordering at least once. Reserve ahead on weekends.
Explore Manaus's Best Local Spots with Our Interactive Map
What's on the map in Manaus
We've mapped local spots in Manaus, gateway to the Amazon.
Rainforest & rivers
Museu da Amazônia (MUSA)
In the Adolpho Ducke Forest Reserve, MUSA spreads over 100 hectares: botanical garden, butterfly house, aquariums, forest trails and a 42-metre tower that lifts you above the canopy. Book a guided tour.
Adolpho Ducke Reserve · Museum and forest · Perfect for nature lovers
Tarumã-Açu river
Where the Tarumã-Açu meets the Rio Negro. Rent a boat, kayak or SUP, stop at a floating bar and find a sandy beach such as Praia Dourada.
West of Manaus · River · Made for water activities
Parque do Mindu
A big city park with forest trails where sloths, monkeys and toucans live – and snack stalls selling tapioquinha and pão de queijo.
Manaus · Park · Great for wildlife
Museu do Seringal Vila Paraíso
Reached only by boat from Marina do Davi, this former rubber estate shows what plantation life was like in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Tarumã-Mirim river · Open-air museum · Ideal for history
Amazonian flavours
Caxiri
Amazonian cooking in the historic centre: tambaqui with roasted native fruits, and salads of edible plants you've probably never tasted. Curious?
Historic centre · Restaurant · Made for Amazonian cuisine
Tambaqui de Banda
Facing the Amazon Theatre, an informal spot for generous plates of pirarucu, matrinxã and tambaqui. Try the caboco enrolado.
Largo de São Sebastião · Restaurant · Perfect for local fish
Tacacá da Gisela
Near São Sebastião square, a stand serving tacacá, the Amazonian soup of tucupi and jambú. Your lips will tingle.
Centro · Street food · Great for local flavours
Amazonas Bistrô
Hearty regional dishes such as fried pirarucu, right inside the municipal market.
Mercado Adolpho Lisboa · Restaurant · Ideal for lunch
Mercado Municipal Adolpho Lisboa
An 1880s Art Nouveau market inspired by Paris's Les Halles, on the banks of the Rio Negro. Wander the stalls and soak it in.
Centro · Market · Perfect for souvenirs
Bar do Armando
A bohemian bar opposite São Sebastião square since 1963, with live music.
Centro · Bar · Great for live music
Axerito Bar
Regional food by day; live Latin music and dancing by night.
Bar · Made for dancing
FAQ
Tambaqui, a river fish usually grilled or stewed, and tacacá, a manioc-and-shrimp soup with jambu leaf — both are Manaus staples you won't find prepared the same way elsewhere in Brazil.
Not entirely — Parque do Mindu and Igarapé Tarumã-açu give you forest and blackwater within the city itself, though a half-day boat trip to the Meeting of the Waters or a rubber estate like Vila Paraíso is the best way to see the river up close.
A 100-hectare museum and forest reserve in Manaus with trails, a botanical garden and a 42-metre canopy tower.
Only by boat, from Marina do Davi.
At Tambaqui de Banda facing the Amazon Theatre, or at Caxiri in the historic centre.
Where to Sleep in Manaus
See Mercure hotels in Manaus, all within reach of these picks.