Encontro das Águas

Where the black Rio Negro meets the muddy Solimões

The Meeting of the Waters is the natural counterpart to the Teatro: the place every visitor to Manaus is taken at least once. Where the inky, slow-moving, warm Rio Negro joins the silty, faster, cooler Solimões, the two waters run parallel for kilometres in a clean dark-and-light line before eventually merging into what is properly the Amazon.

The standard way to see it is a half-day boat tour from the port, usually combined with stops at a floating restaurant for lunch, an igarapé walk on raised wooden boardwalks, and a brief visit to the giant Victoria amazonica water lilies. Bring a hat — the river glare is brutal.

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The two rivers run side by side for about 6 km without mixing, separated by their different temperatures, speeds and acidities. The phenomenon is so distinct it is clearly visible in satellite photos, and the contrast appears in the city's coat of arms.

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