Manaus

The capital of the state of Amazonas, Manaus is a major ecotourism destination in northern Brazil found at the confluence of the Negro and Solimões Rivers. It serves as an urban centre within the jungle for those on a Brazil vacation package.

Originally founded as the Fort of Saõ Jose do Rio Negro by the Portuguese in 1669, the area was later recognized as a town called Manaus (“Mother of the gods”) in 1832. Manaus was then designated as a city in 1848. From 1890 to 1920, Manaus became integral to the Brazilian rubber boom that led to great prosperity and wealth throughout the region and much of northern Brazil. However, as more immigrants arrived to take advantage of the rubber industry there were too many mouths to feed and the city greatly suffered. Manaus began to recover when it was declared a duty-free zone in 1967 and remains a hub of finance in northern Brazil.