The Amazon rainforest, the largest rainforest in the world is a wonderland for nature lovers, botanists, birders, scientists, ecologists, tourists, anthropologists, archaeologists, gold-seekers, explorers and the curious.

The vast area called Amazon includes parts of Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Suriname, French Guiana, Guyana and a huge chunk of Brazil. Amazon's land area represents 40% of Brazil's territory. The Amazon area is responsible for 50% of the renovated oxygen on earth, and it has over 1000 rivers and lakes, more then one fifth of the fresh water reserves on Earth. Among its thousands of noble century old trees it houses over 1,800 different bird species and over 2000 varieties of mammals. The rivers and lakes contain over 1,500 varieties of fish.

The 4,087 miles long Amazon river discharges the largest volume of water into the sea and forms a network of water channels that crosses nearly half of South America's continent. The Amazon river is 4,080 miles long, second only to the Nile in length. On the average, some 28 billion gallons per minute flow into the sea. The discharge is so great that it noticeably makes the Atlantic's waters less salty for more than 100 miles offshore.

The Amazon region is hot and has abundant rainfall, what helps its rivers to fill and its plants to grow.

The best known plants are the Victoria Régia water lilies, whose leaves sometimes grow to seven feet in diameter. Not surprisingly, waterways are the main access routes within the Amazon; and boats are the principal means of transportation.

Manaus is a modern, growing city, and a gateway to the Amazon. It grew and gained importance during the rubber boom in the 19th century. The main landmark left from this prosperous period is the famous Amazonas Theater (completed in 1896 and restored in 1929) with its neoclassical façade and art nouveau interior including paintings by Capranesi and De Angelis. The green, yellow, blue and red dome is made up of tiles imported from France - a masterpiece of tropical decor.