Luxury Amazon Cruise in Brazil

The Zaltana crew welcomes you aboard with a briefing on the eco-friendly, low-impact practices for the trip. You visit the Meeting of Waters, where the Rio Negro (black waters) and the Rio Solimões (brown waters) run side by side for over 9 km without mixing — a rare natural phenomenon. After lunch onboard, a speedboat ride explores Lake Janauari, a 9,000-hectare ecological park full of bromeliads, orchids and the giant water lily (Victoria amazonica). Later, you visit an indigenous community for a captivating performance of traditional singing and dancing.

You journey to the Nova Esperança community on the banks of the Cuieiras River, an ecological haven, for a chance to immerse yourself in local culture and exchange knowledge. A forest hike reveals natural treasures and their medicinal uses. Later, explore the Anavilhanas islands by speedboat to 3 Bocas, where lush vegetation mirrors in the dark waters, and round off the day with the traditional activity of piranha fishing — a key ingredient of Amazonian cuisine.

A full day of leisurely navigation through island landscapes. You pass Novo Airão, the nearest city to Anavilhanas National Park, and continue to Acajatuba, an area of igarapés and canals linking the Negro and Solimões rivers — ideal for eco-tourism. In the evening, a guided search along the riverbanks reveals caimans and other nocturnal animals, spotted by their yellow eyes in the flashlight beam.

The day begins with the beloved pink river dolphins (botos), found only in the Amazon. A thrilling speedboat ride follows along the Ariaú River — the filming location of the movie Anaconda — where sloths, howler and squirrel monkeys, parrots and herons are often spotted. A forest hike leads to the giant Samaúma tree, the mother of Amazonian trees. As the day ends, a Luau on Praia Grande beach, with a campfire and local food, closes the evening before you settle in aboard the moored Zaltana.

The waters that welcomed you now bid farewell as you cruise back to Manaus over a farewell breakfast on the Rio Negro, savoring the last moments of this Luxury Amazon Cruise in Brazil. You return with renewed energy and a deeper resolve to protect the greatest natural heritage on earth.