Living Amazon

Arrival in the morning. Completion of immigration formalities, customs and baggage reception, baggage check-in after identification for your onward flight to Manaus with LAN Brazil.

Welcome to Manaus, rubber metropolis on the mighty Amazon and centre of Amazonia. Reception and private transfer to the hotel, room check-in and time to acclimatise.

1 overnight stay at the 4★ Hotel Villa Amazonia, room with breakfast – Details about the hotel

On Afternoon city tour with a visit to the opera house. You will go on a private city tour with your local, German-speaking guide. You will visit the famous Teatro Amazonas opera house, built around 1890, when Manaus was one of the richest municipalities in the world due to the Brazilian rubber monopoly. If you like, you can visit the MUSA Museum of Amazon with its botanical garden.

Dinner togethern the hotel restaurant Bistro Fitz Carraldo (when staying at the Hotel Villa Amazonia, otherwise at Maragogi in the Tropical Executive Hotel) in a relaxed atmosphere and with modern cuisine that mixes international classics with exotic ingredients from the Amazon.

Embarkation - Rio Negro: Day + night excursions
The suitcases are collected early in the morning and taken to the ship. After breakfast, a tour to the market, where traders offer truly magnificent specimens of river fish - such a variety is not often seen. The listed market hall was designed by Gustave Eiffel.

Embarkation on the Dorinha around midday. The riverboat was built in a small local shipyard and is lovingly and comfortably furnished with the finest woods. Your experienced captain and his dedicated local crew will welcome you on board. After a refreshing welcome drink, it's "Cast off!" and you sail down the Rio Negro past the colourful hustle and bustle of Manaus while enjoying a hearty lunch.

Glide through the Amazon rainforest landscape on a traditional river boat. Your captain and most important man on board grew up in the Amazon region and is a profound expert on the rainforest and every branch of the Amazon, no matter how small. He knows exactly when the howler monkeys can be heard and how to fish a piranha out of the water without injuring it. Explore the natural wonders in the catchment area of the Rio Solimões and Rio Negro with him and alongside Prof. Dr Hubert Lücker and the crew as the ship winds its way through the labyrinthine river system. Stable dinghies take you deep into the impassable rainforest on daily expeditions - always under the guidance of experienced zoologist and biologist Hubert Lücker. Nocturnal expeditions, fishing and swimming stops and visits to locals in the small riverside villages are just some of the highlights of this trip.

In the famous "Encontro das Águas" ("Meeting of Waters"), the section of the river where white and black water flow together, you will be able to observe the dividing line between the waters in the river. After dark, you will go on your first exciting night excursion, during which you will track down caimans and various nocturnal animals. You are also sure to hear the irrepressibly loud calls of the howler monkeys.

9 nights on board the DORINHA, exclusive charter with full board, activities, excursions – Details about the hotel

Route example, depending on weather and water level:
Participation in activities as part of the programme. Depending on the weather, the programme includes hikes in the rainforest, boat trips to observe the flora and fauna, lectures and meetings with locals.

Today you board the wooden dinghies for the first time and explore the area near Janauacá. With the help of the outboard motors, you head into the small side arms of the Rio Solimões. Marvel at the vegetation and treetops of the gigantic trees as you pass by and keep an eye out for sloths, birds and - if you stay awake late - nocturnal animals. The motto is always "Only those who want to join in". There is no pressure and no animation. If you just want to lie in a hammock and read, that's exactly what you can do. Enjoy the uncomplicated atmosphere on board!

Awakened by the calls of exotic birdsIn the early morning, you set off on a canoe tour on the Rio Pagodão - mighty trunks and huge roots line the banks. After a stop for a swim, you continue on the Rio Cuieiras to a very special forest region called "Campina". Flower lovers in particular will get their money's worth here: beautiful orchids, countless bromeliads and liana plants with deep-hanging roots can be discovered. The day ends with a barbecue by the river.

How do people live on the shore? What do they live on? A visit to the small settlement of Igarapé Preto is on the agenda and so contact with the people on the river. You can communicate with hands and feet and are amazed at their openness and warmth. Children jump jubilantly from the boat into the water or take you by the hand and show you their village on the walk. The women offer wood carvings and jewellery. You will learn how bananas, papaya, manioc and rubber are grown and extracted. Behind the settlement is a gigantic forest with floating trees. It is exciting to drive through it and conquer the narrowest canals.

At dawn, you set off on a canoe tour to a nearby piranha lakewhere you can see black piranhas up to 45 centimetres in size. In the afternoon, visit the pretty village of Igarapé Preto. Here you will receive information about life on the Amazon and see areas where cocoa, manioc, beans and other vegetables are grown. Of particular interest is the variety of fruit on offer here, which you can also enjoy daily on board the ship. On the onward journey, you will reach an extensive lake area near the island of Barroso, where huge water lilies with a leaf diameter of up to three metres grow. At sunrise, the beautiful white flowers of the rare aquatic plant Victoria Amazonica close and capture countless beetles with which they live in symbiosis and pollinate these unique plants. Continue through small enchanted canals, across the Montrichardia forest, the "forest of dancing trees", to the "enchanted lake" (only possible at high tide).

Piranha Lake - those who get up early are rewarded with a special experience: The awakening of monkeys, sloths and birds at Piranha Lake. Fishing takes place here - the lake lives up to its name. The rest of the day is spent exploring the area, depending on the local conditions. In the evening, the piranhas are on the barbecue. Enjoy healthy food with fruit, fish, meat and plants from the rainforest, lovingly prepared by the cook on board.

Archipelago Anavilhanas: During a trip on the Rio Igarapé Cachoeira with the stable dinghies in favourable water conditions and good weather, you will learn a lot about the unique flora and fauna of this region, which is worth protecting. The tour then continues to the famous Anavilhanas archipelago, the largest freshwater island landscape in the world. While the boat guides find their way between branching river courses, lagoons and floating islands, you can observe flocks of parrots, toucans and marmosets. Before you go to sleep, you will take another evening trip on the dinghies.

The plan is to visit a typical settlement of an Amazonian tribeand the "Pink Dolphin" project of the municipality of Sao Thomé, where you can get to know these interesting mammals - and with a bit of luck even swim with them (no guarantee).

Cruise along the canals at the mouth of the Ariaú River in good weather and water levels. With a bit of luck, you might spot the pink dolphins in this area! At Lake Jaradá you go on a hike to a beautiful spot called Campina. The crew clears the path with machetes. Orchids and bromeliads grow here and you can discover various epiphytes. Not only flower lovers and photographers get their money's worth here. An evening trip on the dinghies rounds off this eventful day.

Depending on the water level, there is the opportunity to Natural waterfall and water rapids to visit - Pack your swimming costume! Afterwards, take a stroll through the small settlement and experience how different life is in this area on the Black Water.

If the water level and the weather allow it, Drive far north in the Rio Negro, where you reach the reddish waters of the Aturiá. A long walk with the guides from the ship through the forest brings you to a camping site where you can enjoy a simple but hearty rainforest picnic. The white beach and clear water invite you to refresh yourself. On the way back to the ship, the guides will show you the plants and the gigantic trees of the rainforest with their mighty root structures - there is always something new to discover.

Head south back to Manaus. Keep an eye out for howler monkeys, which give their loud morning greeting. After a trip in the dinghies, you will reach an area with an unusually low pH value of the water, which is therefore unsuitable for plants and animals, but all the more suitable for an exuberant swim.

If the plan allows it, During the day, your boat glides towards Novo Airao, while there is always something to watch on the riverbank. In the afternoon, visit the village of Novo Airao with its approximately 2,000 inhabitants. Explore the village and admire the craftsmanship of the local boat builders. The DORINHA was also built here

All the trips across the mirror-smooth water, past countless small islands, provide incredible photo opportunities. The glistening water with its bizarre reflections offers a particularly atmospheric experience and photographic challenge everywhere. Especially at sunset, everything often sinks romantically into the sunset glow, while you can hear the calls of parrots and toucans. In the evening, you can go on excursions to discover nocturnal animals.

Enjoy the sunrise in the morning. Arrival in Manaus, disembarkation and transfer to the airport. Morning flight to São Paulo. Return flight to Germany, Austria, Switzerland in the evening

Welcome home! An extraordinary trip to the Amazon comes to an end here.