Parque Nacional da Tijuca

The largest urban forest spreads over about 39 square kilometers and also is the home of the famous Jesus statue on the top of the Corcovado. It has an abundance of wild life and a number of beautiful waterfalls. There are a number of guided hiking and jeep tours, but most of the trails are well marked enough to just go on a hike by yourself. Well marked does not mean easily accessible, so you should be at least on a certain level of fitness and wear suitable shoe work. Brazilians might be able to do these hikes in flip-flops, but anyone who did not grow up in them will not manage this sorcery. Make sure to bring lots of water, some snacks and maybe a light jacket as well, the altitude plus the shade from the tree usually keeps the park a little more on the chilly side. It´s best to take a cab or an Uber to the park as it´s not the easiest to reach with public transport. Uber is usually incredibly cheap (2-4 Euros for a 20 minute ride) and often a much quicker and easier option than the Metro or buses, especially when you are not just taking it by yourself.


Jardim Botanico

With trees from the amazon, a rose garden and an army of little monkey a trip to the Botanical Garden of Rio has everyone you could wish for. Strolling around here for a couple of hours easily lets you forget that you are in a city of almost 6.5 million people. Supposedly there are even sloths in the more remote areas of the park, but even if you do not find them you are sure to have a good time for only 10 Reais or about 3 Euros. We sadly went in Brazilian winter, which meant far less flowers than usual, but even then it is definitely still worth a visit and if it´s only for some peace of mind amongst Rio´s buzz.

Morro Dois Irmaos 

This has been my absolute favourite new attraction in Rio. While the view from the Christo and the Sugarloaf are well-known by most visitors of the Cidade Maravilhosa, there is an even better (and much, much cheaper) option for an incredibly view over Rio from Dois Irmaos, the iconic mountain you can see from Ipanema. All it will take is some sweat and a little bit of muscle work, but you will get a view like no other, being able to see both the Christo and the Sugarloaf at the same time. Laying between two favelas Rocinha, one of the biggest favelas of South America and Vidigal the hike was not accessible to tourists until the pacification of them for the Football World Championship, but today so many tourist come here, that you should not do this hike on weekends as the top will be quite crowded.
To get here take an Uber or Cab to the main square of Favela Vidigal on Avenida Niemeyer. You can also take buses 557, 2337 or 104 from Ipanema or Copacabana, as long as it says Niemeyer as one of the destinations you should be fine. Once you get off at the main square you will see a number of white vans or mototaxis waiting to take you to the top. Both will take you to the access of the trail next to a football field, but I can honestly say the motorbikes are much more fun. They will also cost you a little more than the vans (10 Reais compared to 3). From the football field you can access the trail up the mountain. The climb takes between 45 minutes and an hour and is quite steep in some places, so take some decent shoes. Once again Brazilians may be able to do this in flip flops, but gringos should not attempt this.

I had dreamed of this moment for over seven years. Since I first read Isabel Allende´s City of the Beasts I was incredibly fascinated with the untouched nature of Amazonia. Other books (I have always been one to travel by page) only reinforced this dream and when I graduated from highschool, I was sure no matter what would happen, I would set foot into Amazonia before a year would pass.
It took six months of hard work, over 40 hours of travel, a two month stay in Chile and a trip to Rio, before it actually happened, but in march 2013 I got picked up by a slick black car from my hostel in Manaus and I was on my way to fulfill my biggest dream.

Tour guides

Obviously I was sure I was not going to explore the rainforest and the Amazon by myself. Without GPS I am lost within second in every town (even in the square by square structured Santiago de Chile), I hate walking and while I do not need daily luxury I am pretty bummed out without an internet access. Luckily if Manaus has enough of one thing it´s agencies offering tours of the Amazon. Sadly there are a lot of bad apples and you should choose carefully, but I can wholeheartedly recommend Gero Tours, an agency with a gorgeous lodge up the Rio Negro, offering tours for up to six days (which I obviously chose, I was not going to do a short trip, I was in it for the long run). What I especially like about this agency is that they train local amazonians to be tour guides so these people are not treated like animals in a zoo, but can tell their own story and talk about their own experiences. You can book different packages and sleep in a hammock or a private bungalow. Before deciding let me tell you that my back has never felt better than after five nights in a hammock. They also offer one free tour from or to the airport and I personally loved being able to just hop in a car on my trip back and get driven to Manaus airport instead of figuring out the bus schedule, before my 18 hour flight home.

Getting there

The trip to the lodge itself is quite impressive. We were picked up at our hotels and then drove to the harbour of Manaus. The tour already started here, with our guide explaining us which kinds of fish were sold and telling us about the way trading works in Manaus after the caoutchouc boom is over. From the harbour we took a little speed boat to cross the Amazon and had a little stop at the Encontro dos aguas, an impressive natural spectacle, where the dark rivers of the Rio Negro and the latte coloured Amazon meet and due to differences in denseness and temperature flow along side without mixing for 11 kilometers.
After crossing the river we changed into other cars and took on another 3 hour drive over bright red coloured streets through impressive forests and pampa. We also stopped to looked at huge waterlillies and were fed with information the entire way. I really loved how much our guides had to tell and how informed they were about the nature.
One more boat ride and we finally arrived at the lodge. I really felt so comfortable here, even though the only space I had was a little hammock and a mosquito net.




The experience

I am not even sure I can describe this. It was honestly so mindblowing to be sorrounded by this masses of water all day, to dive into a part of the world were humans are beyond irrelevant, a nature so vivid and wild that it will exist for hundred of years after we will die out, unless we ruin it before. It was so incredibly important for me to experience this after I have been so passionate about this region for so long. Seeing this dream coming true is till this day something I have not really processed fully.
In our six days in Amazonia, I did two jungle walks, numerous boats drive up the rivers, I canoed in a flooded forest, visited a local family, went Piranha fishing and searched for caimans at night. I was so incredibly free in these days, I learned so much and I saw even more. I held a boa constrictor and a tiny crocodile in my hands, I ate Piranha I had fished myself and I saw a sloth, which almost made me cry.
I also saw a pink river dolphin and five (!) different kinds of monkeys. Every night I went to bed thinking I was in a dream and every morning I woke up to new great adventures.
Our tour guides were so amazing, they showed us so many little things we would have easily overlooked and offered so many personal stories and informations, which I absolutely loved.
This trip has taught me so much about nature, our planet and how much we need to protect it. But I think the most important lesson I have taken from this trip is that if you really, really want something and you work really hard you can make any dream come true.
I have dreamed about the Amazon for six years before I first set foot there. I really worked my ass off to make this trip possible and I have missed out on a lot of things for it. And I would do it all again any day.

What is your absolute dream destination and have you already been there?

This colonial city used to be one of the richest towns on earth during the boom of caoutschouc in the early nineteenhundreds. It had a tram before Chicago and the inhabitants were so decadent, that they imported not only all of the incredibly expensive materials for the opera house (such as ebony and marble), but also all kinds of daily necessities such as food or linnen from Europe. Today Manaus remains as a ghost town, still showing it´s old beauty in some places and rocking a very shabby chic in most others. For everyone aiming to take a tour up the amazon, this is the holding point, before the trip starts. Within days you fall into the tropical semi coma that is omnipresent in this town, the stress of sightseeing or weekly travels falls off and since Manaus is quite low on attractions and nightlife you do not miss out too much if you spend the majority of the day dozing. But for me Manaus was the absolute dream town, talked about in so many of the books that made me want to go to the Amazon so bad in the first place. In Journey on the River Sea and A company of Swans the protagonist arrives in Manaus at the height of it´s success and the colourful and lively city that is described may not be today´s Manaus at all, but for me exploring the traces of this riches, was a wonderful experience.


Getting there

There are flights from all major airports in Brazil for very cheap, usually you pay around 130 Euros for a roundtrip. Many amazon tour agencies offer a free trip from or to the airport, but there are also buses, that may take a while to arrive and are not super regurlarly, but get you into the city centre quickly and cheaply.


Accomodation

We stayed at the Hostel Manaus (not to be confused with the Manaus hostel) close to the city centre of Manaus. It has an open kitchen, a nice terrace and a big common area. The dorms and the single rooms cost the same per person so it´s ideal for couples, or if you would just like some privacy after a long time of travelling and sleeping in dorms. Make sure to reserve beforehand, because rooms are more expensive when booked on the spot. There is also a amazon tour agency inside the hostel, that is reliable and well priced. Beware of all the hoaxes around Manaus and stick to approved tour offices, that are recommended by the Lonely Planet or ask at the reception of your hostel. 

Teatro Amazonas

Rose coloured and made up of the most expensive material this wonderful beauty throwns over the main square of Manaus. When you first step into this building you immediately forget that you are in the middle of the brazilian hinterlands, that there is only rainforest around you, hell you even forget the incredible heat outside. There is just beauty: high ceilings, painted in the most gorgeous coulours, marble pillars and floors made up from ebony and very light wood to represent the meeting of the dark Rio Negro and the Amazon river close to Manaus, a nature spectacle called the meeting of the waters. In this building I think you can first imagine the absolute wealth of this town, and the lengths to which the European settlers would go to remain their standards of living. I can highly recommend to take one of the tours here and even more to buy tickets and experience an actual show. 


Palacio Rio Negro

This mansion was build by one of the richest plantation owners and shows just how much money they had. The building is huge and absolutely impressive. The look from the old terrace over the town must have been just as impressive, but today only shows the decay and how much the time has taken from this former princess of a town. Entrance is free, but there are also guided tours. In my opinion however just walking through it is enough.




Adolho Lisboa Market Hall

Here you can see the riches the Amazon has to offer and the incredible variety of fruits and vegetables, fish, herbs and sweets. It is also a very beautiful antique building with gorgeous steel decorations. I loved walking with all of the locals there and experiencing the lively conversations and hectic sales behaviour. Also a great place to go shopping for souvenirs or your dinner.

It´s not an insider tip. But it feels exactly like it. Ilha Grande, a beautiful island, only two hours from Rio de Janeiro is a protected national park, without cars and just a tiny village. The rest of the island is covered in tropical rainforest and beautiful beaches. Our trip was completely spontaneous, but I guess this is how you find paradise. Laying on the white beach, walking to a beautiful waterfall through the deep jungle, drinking Caipirinhas at night under a huge tree on the beach, eating a delicious late night burger in Vila do Abraao before leaving the island the next day... it was the perfect getaway. I will come back I promise!



Getting there

From Rio´s bus stations take one of the very comfy climated buses down the coast towards this gorgeous island. We just walked in, bought a ticket for the next possible bus and then waited for a bit. There are numerous buses leaving each day.
From one of the bus stops along the coast you can take fast catamarans (relatively expensive), the big ferry from Angras dos Reis or a small boat from Mangaratiba, that is cheaper and takes longer hence leaving you more time to enjoy the gorgeous scenery. Make sure to check the departure times, there aren´t countless boats going to and from the island and also do not forget to take enough cash, there are no ATMs on Ilha Grande.



Accomoodation

There are a lot of family led guest houses, with little rooms in the main town of the island Vila do Abraão (which has an impressive number of 3000 inhabitants). You can just walk around and ask the owner of these Pousadas for their rooms and prices. There are also some little hostels along the beach and more luxurious rooms as well, but I think you get the beast steal in one of the Pousadas. We spent our nights in the Aquário Hostel, that lays directly on the sea, offers parties and barbecues on the pretty terrace and also has a natural pool which is so clear that you can watch fishes from above.


What to do

Ilha Grande is a quiet, tiny island. There are no cars, no ATMs and only one small town. But it has some really gorgeous natural sights. Next to the famous tropical beaches with glistening white sand, there are huge waterfalls and deep jungle in the center of the island. There are numerous tracks lined out, that you can just follow along. I highly recommend dipping into the waterfalls and if you have time to climb up the highest mountain of the island, called the parrot head. You can also take boat tours around the island to snorkle and explore some of the more remote and even prettier beaches.
There is not much of a nightlife, but there are beautiful beach bars, where you can enjoy a cold caipirinha and great talks, while holding your feet in the ocean that climbs up the beach during the tide. You should also eat a burger at the burger stand close to the center of Vila do Abraão. Basically do all the things you ever dreamt of doing on a remote island: explore the jungle, lay on the beach, have cocktails on the beach and enjoy life.