Brazil
Presidente Figueiredo
Over a hundred waterfalls crashing through primary jungle two hours north of the Amazon's largest city.
Water crashes through a gap in the canopy and hits a pool so perfectly round it looks carved. Then you walk ten minutes and find another one. Presidente Figueiredo in Amazonas is the Amazon's hidden waterfall district — over a hundred falls within reach of a single road.
One hundred and thirteen waterfalls have been catalogued within the municipality, most accessible via trails under an hour of walking through primary Amazon jungle. The falls empty into natural pools with sandy floors visible through clear water, holding a constant twenty-six degrees year-round. The Iracema caves add another dimension — rock paintings estimated at over a thousand years old share space with the largest bat colony in the Amazon. All of this sits just two hours north of Manaus on the AM-240 highway, making it one of the most accessible stretches of primary rainforest in Brazil. Macaws call from the canopy before you see them, and peccary tracks cross the trail at dawn.
Couple
Private waterfall pools in the middle of the Amazon, warm enough to swim year-round, surrounded by nothing but primary forest. The short trails mean more time in the water and less time exhausted on the path.
Family
The waterfalls are close to the road, the pools are warm and shallow, and children get the thrill of swimming in the Amazon jungle without any of the remoteness or difficulty that usually entails.
Friends
A waterfall-hopping road trip from Manaus, hitting a new cascade every hour, with tambaqui ribs grilled at waterfall-side churrascarias between swims. The AM-240 was built for this kind of day.
- One hundred and thirteen waterfalls have been catalogued in the municipality — trails to each are marked, and most are under an hour of walking.
- The Iracema caves contain rock paintings estimated at over a thousand years old, alongside the largest bat colony in the Amazon.
- Most of the waterfalls empty into natural pools at a constant 26°C year-round — sandy floors visible through the clear water.
- The trails pass through primary Amazon jungle — macaws are heard before they are seen, and peccary tracks cross the paths at dawn.
Tambaqui costela (Amazonian fish ribs) grilled at waterfall-side churrascarias.
Tacacá and açaí from roadside vendors along the AM-240 highway between waterfalls.
Caldeirada de peixe — river fish stew with vegetables and tucupi — at family-run pousada restaurants.
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