Anavilhanas Archipelago

Anavilhanas is a national park covering an archipelago of roughly four hundred islands strung down the middle of the Rio Negro above Manaus, and it is among the largest river-island systems anywhere. The islands are not stable ground: the Negro rises and falls by something like ten metres over the year, so for months the forest stands in water as igapo - blackwater flooded forest, where you paddle between trunks at canopy height - and in the low season the same channels drain to white sand beaches and narrow igarapes. Because blackwater is acidic and nutrient-poor there are very few mosquitoes, which makes it markedly more comfortable than the Solimoes side. River dolphins, both pink boto and grey tucuxi, work the channels.

What you actually see

• Around four hundred islands - one of the largest river archipelagos in the world.
• Igapo at high water - paddling between trunks where the forest is flooded.
• Sand beaches at low water - the same channels drained, roughly October to March.
• Boto and tucuxi - pink and grey river dolphins in the channels.

When to go

May to September for flooded forest; October to March for beaches. Two days.

Honest expectations

Which landscape you get is decided by the water level, not by you - check the season against what you want. Lodges are the practical base and are not cheap. Boat noise pushes wildlife off; ask for paddled canoe time.

Nearby

Novo Airao is the gateway town; Jau National Park is further up the Negro.