Amazonas

Amazonas is the largest state in Brazil by area, a vast expanse of Amazon rainforest in the northwest of the country. Its capital is Manaus, a city of two million in the heart of the jungle. It is the green lung of Brazil, home to extraordinary biodiversity and the meeting of great rivers.

Amazonas is dominated by the world's largest rainforest, crossed by the Amazon and its many tributaries, including the dramatic Meeting of the Waters where the dark Rio Negro joins the sandy Solimoes. The climate is hot, humid and equatorial.

The state's culture is deeply Amazonian, shaped by Indigenous peoples, riverine communities and the legacy of the rubber boom, which built the opulent Manaus Opera House. River life, folklore and forest traditions are central.

Home to numerous Indigenous nations, the region boomed spectacularly during the rubber era around 1900, making Manaus briefly one of the richest cities in the world. It became a state and remains the center of Amazon conservation and research.