Meeting of the waters in Manaus

One of the most spectacular and weird things I have seen was the meeting of the waters in Manaus, Brazil. It’s spectacular in terms of what the phenomenon is all about. I would have loved to fly over it because then you could see it even better. There are loads of different tours you can take to see it.

Which rivers are we talking about?

The Rio Negro and the Amazon river or Rio Solimões. Rio Negro literally translated into black river and that is how it looks, very dark in color, almost like black coffee. The river originates in Colombian hills and travels for a long time to eventually end up in Manaus, Brazil. The color comes from all the plant matter and decaying leaves it takes with it along the way. The Rio Solimões originates in Arequipa, Peru and is much lighter in color than the other river. They think it’s because of the sediment from the Andes mountains, it almost looks like a milky- sandy color.

Explaining the phenomenon of the meeting of the waters 

Ever wondered why these two rivers collide so beautifully? Well, they actually don’t just merge for quite a while. To be exact, for around 6 km they keep their individual water properties. Take the Rio Negro, the temperature of the black river is about 28°C or 82.4°F on the other hand the Amazon river is way cooler at 22°C or 71.6°F. 

When you go there with a small boat they will tell you to place your hand in the Rio Negro and they will manouver the boat towards the Amazon river. And indeed you will definitely feel a huge difference in temperature. 

The Rio Negro flows slower than the Amazon river, at near 2 km/h or 1.2 mph and the Amazon river flows between 4 and 6 km/h or 2.5–3.7 mph. 

Besides these two big differences the pH levels are different too as well as the amount of dissolved sediments in the water. 

Where can you do the tour? 

You can book this tour at most hotels or hostels, if they don’t, you can also book them through Get your guide. We made a day trip out of it, together with swimming with the river dolphins. I have a blog available about all Amazon tours you will love. You can do the meeting of the waters tour with a smaller boat so you can also feel the water temperature changing or with a bigger boat where you can see the devision of the waters a bit better. 

The meeting of the waters is even visible from space. But experiencing it firsthand in Manaus is much simpler and a lot cheaper than traveling to outer space.

There is lots more to do in the Amazon, read more if your curiosity is ticked.

Is Brazil accessible for wheelchair users?

If you want to do the Meeting of the waters tour you can. But only with the bigger boats, they have ramps in certain ports. You will need to take time to find out which tour allows for wheelchair users.

Museums*

Good, most museums have ramps and elevators. Of course check before you go because it will be different museum to museum.

Café’s and restaurants

There are so many places where you can enter but a lot of places don’t have ramps. Bathrooms in smaller places usually are upstairs.

Public transport

Bad in most cities, one of the exceptions is Curitiba, the bus stop usually has a ramp.

Toilets

If you go inside malls or other public places you will have a designated toilet for wheelchair users.

*And other attractions

Items I love while traveling

Feet hammock airplane

This airplane hammock for your feet is great for when you are traveling long flights. I love that it can be hung over the airplane table and I can rest my feet when I’m tired. It is adjustable and it is really comfortable.

Collapsible handheld fan

I don’t know about how you deal with heat but I need a bit of cooling down when I’m traveling. This easy (and cute) fan is my go to for when I am too hot. It can be charged with usb which is super practical.

Airplane pocket

Being organized always makes me happy and when I saw this amazing pocket for over your airplane table I was sold. You place it over the table (so you instantly have a clean table) and you can add all you need, when you have a long flight.