Tapajos National Forest

The Flona Tapajos is a national forest of around five hundred and forty thousand hectares along the eastern bank of the Tapajos south of Santarem, and it is a working conservation category rather than a strict reserve: people live inside it, and the villages of Maguari, Jamaraqua and others run community tourism with lodges, guides and canoe trips. The forest here is tall primary terra firme, with samauma - kapok trees - of a size that takes several people to encircle, and the Tapajos itself is clearwater, green rather than black or brown, so its beaches emerge as white sand in the dry season. Rubber tapping is still demonstrated. The arrangement means the money stays in the villages, and visits are booked through them rather than through Santarem agencies.

What you actually see

• Giant samauma - kapok trees several people cannot reach around.
• Clearwater river beaches - white sand emerging from the Tapajos in the dry season.
• Community lodges - Maguari and Jamaraqua running their own visits and guides.
• Rubber tapping - the practice still shown in the forest.

When to go

July to December for beaches; January to June for flooded forest. Three days.

Honest expectations

Accommodation is village lodges and hammocks, not hotels. Booking directly with the communities takes more effort than an agency but is the point. Mosquitoes and heat are constant.

Nearby

Alter do Chao is north on the same river; Santarem is the city.