Why you should head to the Amazon in Brazil today
The difference between a vacation and a trip? In ten years, you probably won't remember that beach holiday in Spain, but you will remember that trek through the jungle where you saw that tarantula. You will remember that afternoon you stood under a waterfall. You will remember that morning when you were woken up by howler monkeys at 4:00 AM from your small lodge (on stilts!). No, you won't find that in Europe. You will find it in Brazil, the ‘lungs of the world’. Maybe you've never thought about going there, but the Amazon is the largest tropical rainforest and the richest ecosystem in the world. This is why your next trip will be to Brazil.
You want to see this special natural phenomenon at least once.
A bucket list item. With an area of 5.5 million square kilometers, the Amazon rainforest is the largest contiguous rainforest in the world, spanning nine countries. Just for comparison: that's an area as large as half of Europe. 60% of the Amazon is in Brazil, and nowhere else do so many plant and animal species occur as here.
You save the rainforest.
Maybe you think you support nature by not going, but without tourism, the Brazilian indigenous population has no other option than to go into agriculture. For which residents (unfortunately) have no other choice than to burn pieces of the Amazon to cultivate. So simply put: your visit to Brazil does more for nature than you think.
Not entirely unimportant to mention: the nature freak in you goes crazy.
Nowhere will you find such an extensive flora and fauna as here. Ever seen a sloth up close? Trust me, you want to. Oh, and spotting caimans in the dark from your little boat is quite an experience too. Just like fishing for piranhas. Your inner Freek Vonk will come completely alive.
The accommodations are unbelievably cool.
Boring hotel rooms? They don't know that in the Amazon. Sleeping in a lodge. On 20-meter high stilts is more the rule than the exception. Believe me: these are the overnight stays you will remember years later. And if not, you still have the photos, because those wooden huts on the water are quite Insta-proof.
Sorry, but they have PINK dolphins.
When you hear it, you can hardly believe it, but one of the biggest eye-catchers of the Amazon is the pink dolphin. This river dolphin is only found in South America and regularly shows itself to people. Fun fact: they will never go extinct because the population sees them as almost sacred and absolutely does not want to hunt them.
Because you want to see the Meeting of Waters.
Imagine: you're in a little boat, cruising down the river and see on the left a completely black river (the Rio Negro) and on the right the sandy-colored Amazon River. Next to each other, without mixing. Two different types of water that never overflow but tolerate each other. Do you know what a beautiful Kodak moment that gives you?
And speaking of water: the mirror effect of the Amazon River is bizarre to see.
Do you know those pictures of the Amsterdam canals that reflect so beautifully in the water? You have something like that in the Amazon too, but ten times bigger. With the trees, the clouds, with everything you see. Once on the boat, you enter a landscape that is so reflected in the water that it almost looks like you're sailing into the abyss. You literally can't tell what's below and what's above.
On vacation to the Amazon region, it's a trip you will never forget. Are you booking those tickets? See you at Schiphol.
Written by: Annick van den Broek
