Alter do Chao

The Tapajos is a clearwater river - green rather than brown, because it carries little sediment - and at Alter do Chao it drops through the dry season to expose a long white sandbar in front of the village, the Ilha do Amor, reached by a two-minute canoe or a wade. The colour and the sand are why the place is sold as the Caribbean of the Amazon, a comparison that is overworked but not baseless. Around it are the Lago Verde, flooded igapo forest that can be paddled between the trunks when water is high, and the Tapajos national forest downstream. The Sairé festival in September stages a contest between two pink and grey dolphin companies in a form derived from the same boi tradition as Parintins.

What you actually see

• A white bar in green water - the Ilha do Amor exposed as the river drops.
• A clearwater river - the Tapajos carrying little sediment, unlike the Amazon.
• Flooded igapo forest - paddling between trunks on the Lago Verde.
• The Sairé festival - dolphin companies competing each September.

When to go

August to December for the sand; September for Sairé. Three days.

Honest expectations

Between about January and June the sandbar is under water and the village looks entirely different. Peak season brings crowds, loud music and chair-rental pressure on the bar. Accommodation is limited and books out. Boats are sold aggressively on the front.

Nearby

Santarem is upriver; the Tapajos national forest is downstream.