Manaus

Manaus

The capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, Manaus. With more than 2 million inhabitants, it is the seventh largest city in Brazil. It lies near the confluence of the Negro and Solimőes rivers. Next to Belém, it is the only city in the Amazon rainforest with a population of more than 1 million people. Manaus is located in the middle of the world's largest rainforest, and it is home to the National Institute of Amazonian Research, the most important center for scientific research and international sustainability issues in the Amazon region. At the beginning of the century, it was known as the Heart of the Amazon and the City of the Forest. The city has a cathedral, an opera house, a zoo and botanical gardens, an eco-park, and regional and native museums. As Manaus is located in the Amazon rainforest, it attracts a significant number of Brazilian and foreign tourists who visit to see the wildlife both on land and in the rivers. From Manaus, excursion boats depart for the Meeting of the Waters, where the black waters of the Negro River meet the brown waters of the Solimoes River, which flow side by side for 6 km without mingling. Manaus also has a number of large parks with indigenous forests, such as Bosque da Ciência and Parque do Mindú. The world's largest urban forest is located in the Federal University of Amazonas, Brazil's oldest federal university.