Santarem, Brazil Attractions

Museu dos Tapajós

The Museu dos Tapajós displays some 3000 examples of the craft products of the Tapajó, Tapuio and Munducuru Indians. Typical products of the Tapajó culture are the muraquitãs - small frogs, turtles or snakes carved from black, red or grey stone which are believed to give protection against evil spirits. The Indians also produce well-formed pottery.

Encontro das Aguas

Here there is, as at Manaus, a "Meeting of the Waters", when the Amazon is joined by the crystal-clear, bluish-green waters of the Rio Tapajós.

Alter do Chão

The fishing village of Alter do Chão, south-west of Santarém on the Rio Tapajós, can be reached by boat (2 hours) or on an unsurfaced road (35km/22mi). It has the finest river beach in the area.

Belterra

68km/42mi south-west of Santarém, on the road to Cuiabá, is Belterra, formerly called Fordlândia, where in the late 1920s the Ford Company established huge plantations which were wiped out in 1945 by fungal disease.

Curuá-Una

70km/45mi south-east of Santarém, at Cachoeira de Palhão, is the Curuá-Una hydro-electric station (conducted tours can be arranged).

Lago Verde

There is good bathing in the Lago Verde ("Green Lagoon"), in the Rio Tapajós area, from June to January.

Maicá Lagoon

15km/9.3mi from the town is the Maicá Lagoon, with the Pouso das Garças ("Resting-Place of the Herons"), where hundreds of white herons gather at sunset.

Monte Alegre

In the upland region of Monte Alegre, on the Amazon to the east of Santarém, are hot mineral springs (40°C/104°F). The area is also famed for its cave paintings.

Obidos

North-west of Santarém, at a point when the Amazon narrows to only 1km/.7mi wide, is the old episcopal town of Obidos (pop. 48,000), which has preserved many colonial buildings. The town center and its immediate surroundings are particularly worth seeing.

Parque Nacional da Amazônia

The Amazonia National Park, north of the Rio Tapajós in the communes of Itaituba (Pará) and Maués (Amazonas), covers an area of 1,000,000 hectares/2,500,000 acres. At least 10% of the park has recently been destroyed by gold-prospectors.

The park lies some 370km/230mi south-west of Santarém. It is reached on a side road branching off the Transamazìnica which runs via Belterra to Alter da Chão; then from there by boat to Itaituba.

Rio Trombetas

Nature Reserve

North-west of Santarém, in the commune of Oriximiná, is the Rio Trombetas Nature Reserve (385,000 hectares/951,000 acres).