Brazil’s Japura & Tefe Rivers: Mamiraua, Amana & the Unknown

Ever heard of the Rio Japura? How about the Rio Tefe? There’s a good chance you’ve not heard of these rivers, yet they are two of the largest in the central Amazon basin. This tour in our Great Rivers of the Amazon series (formerly Great Rivers of the Amazon III) is an exploratory voyage of the lower sections of both watercourses, which happen to be opposite-bank, blackwater tributaries of the Rio Solimoes (the Portuguese name for the Amazon River west of Manaus). And both are extraordinarily poorly known ornithologically.

From the city of Manaus, capital of the huge state of Amazonas, we’ll fly west along the Rio Solimoes to bird the most extensive varzea ecosystem in the entire Amazon basin at Mamiraua Ecological Reserve. The floating lodge we will stay in for the first three nights features very comfortable accommodations and good Brazilian cooking. We’ll then board our delightful river-boat home for the next part of our trip, to venture into rarified waters, ascending the Japura to reach Amana Sustainable Development Reserve, a feat that requires having a sufficient flow in the river to permit passage of our rather large, live-aboard vessel. Amana offers access to undisturbed terra firme forest in that “mysterious” sector of the Amazon between the Negro and the Colombian border wherein numerous species appear to turn over east-west, replaced by (mostly) close relatives — or by nothing closely related.

We’ll then cross the Solimoes, birding some river islands en route to the old Amazonian town of Tefe, gateway to the vast Tefe National Forest. A series of terra firme trails have been opened recently, providing access for researchers and responsible tourists to observe and document the abundance of wildlife that has evolved in this special place. Very little ornithological work has been conducted in this region, and we’re especially excited to get boots on the ground on those beautiful, new trails!

Join us for another fine adventure in our Great Rivers of the Amazon series, exploring remote and untrammeled reaches of this greatest of wildernesses.