Before “Amazon” took flight as a mammoth global retail platform and streaming service, the Amazon stretching through South America was a force of nature in the truest sense of the term through its wildlife, an edible bounty, indigenous cultures, and dramatic landscapes shaped by different ecosystems. To say that the color and diversity of the region captured the imagination of adventurous and athletic travelers would be a huge understatement.
While the vast region remains a travel mainstay for adrenaline junkies and wellness worshippers, Para State—particularly capital city Belém and second city Santarém, at the junction of the Tapajós and Amazon Rivers—has much to offer a wider cross-section of travelers looking to venture beyond business capitals Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. While Para’s cities and rural expanses promise exposure to some of Brazil’s most fascinating natural phenomena, they are also rich in cultural attractions, and food experiences that make the exploration of the Amazon more accessible, multi-dimensional, and surprising.
Belém reads as a more laid-back Sao Paulo, with its colonial architecture, and neighborhoods with vibrantly painted buildings. While Nazaré is regarded as one of the trendiest parts of town, thanks to its nightlife, dining, and five-star hotels, Rua Gaspar Viana is beloved among fashionistas for its small boutiques, chic coffee bars, and restored Victorian and Edwardian-era homes. Estação das Docas, in the Campina neighborhood, is a collection of old industrial port structures repurposed as cocktail bars, restaurants, boutiques, live music venues, and prime people-watching.
History buffs and fans of shows like “The Golden Age” should take note that Belém was the epicenter of Brazil’s rubber boom between the late 19th century and the 1910s. Rubber was an essential raw material in the manufacturing of cars and other machinery during the Industrial Revolution, and the city became the gateway to the Amazon for rubber traders, leading to it being one of the first in Brazil to be modernized. Rich European families flocked to the city and reinvented it with ornate architecture to transform it into the “Paris of the Americas.”
The Theatro da Paz, built in the 1870s, embodies this era of progress through its Neoclassical architecture, marble floors, fine hardwood accents, ceiling frescoes, chandeliers, and the “Emperor’s Box,” built especially for Pedro II of Brazil. While the theater still hosts performances (mainly operas and concerts, with tickets on sale at the box office), guided tours are offered on weekdays from 9am-5pm for about $1.60 with free admission on Wednesdays, and 9am-noon on weekends.
The hotel Atrium Quinta das Pedras, though located in a small enclave beyond the downtown center, is a property with great character and easy access by taxi or rideshare to several Belém must-see destinations. The 18th-century structure that once served as a monastery/convent features a beautiful courtyard, pool area, and mini-spa that makes the most of the structure and the location. Other perks include an expansive breakfast buffet, a small full-service spa, and a quiet pool area. Mangal das Garças, a few minutes’ walk from the hotel, is a small, self-contained Amazonian paradise with gorgeously landscaped grounds filled with exotic birds, iguanas (who love sunbathing by the lake), butterflies, and other rainforest creatures. While admission to the park is free, the entrance fee of 15 reals (US $3.68) includes access to its butterfly house, aviaries, and the lighthouse with many panoramic views of the city and waterfronts.
If your visit to Belém is part of a larger tour around Brazil or your business itinerary in the region limits sightseeing time, Mercado Ver-o-Pes is the essential place to visit as it embodies the spirit and history of the city. It fits the bill as it blends shopping, dining, history, and architecture. Reputed to be the largest food and produce market in Latin America, it adjoins the city’s main port on the banks of the Guamá River and has been in business since the 17th Century. Today, it is divided into free-standing specialty areas, some in historic buildings, dedicated to fish, butcher shops, produce, medicinal herbs, and craft stalls. It is also a primer for the local diet and lifestyle, as one can learn about regional fish (pirarucu, dourada, tambaqui, tucunaré), produce (bacupari, tucumã, watercress-cousin jambu, and açai), and nuts. While Box da Lúcia is the most popular boieira (street food stall), there are excellent alternatives such as Barraca do Loro while it is undergoing remodeling.
The Velha neighborhood is the city’s restaurant row, and the Rua Veiga location of Point do Açai (pointdoacai.net) delivers great food as well as proximity to bars and nightclubs. The cocktail to try is a caipirinha with house-blended tangerine lemon juice. This drink or a cold local beer pairs nicely with breaded shrimp, pirarucu (fish) balls, and unha de caranguejo (fried crab meat/crab claw balls). The standout dish is the Chora Nos Meus Pés (“Cry At My Feet”), a delicate fish filet in a creamy tucupi-cashew sauce teamed with jambu rice. Carnivores will like hearty maniçoba (beef stew with pork sausage and casava leaves), or a sampler with small bowls of moqueca (a traditional seafood stew), tacaca (a soup with shrimp and a casava and tucupi base), vatapá (an Afro-Brazilian dish with wheat, shrimp, and regional seasonings), and fried fish accompanied with savory açai.
Belèm also presents many opportunities to experience an authentic river and jungle experience via a visit to Ilha do Cumbu. Visitors can book tours and chartered boat rides through their hotel concierges to various historic sites and restaurants around the island via the Guama River. Most regularly pick up and drop off passengers at the Princesa Isabella docks, almost hidden in plain sight in an industrial area, but safe during daytime hours. Riverfront restaurants such as Restô da Márcia feature menus that are simple yet substantial, with fried or grilled fish (picanha, dourada, filhote) and shrimp, along with grilled chicken, steak, and perfect fries. The island is also home to the fabled Filha do Combú, a gourmet chocolatier who exclusively uses cacao from the facility’s backyard.
Alter do Chão, located on the outskirts of Santarém (an hour by plane from Belem), is the perfect place for people of all ages and athletic levels to wander deeper into the “gateway of the Amazon.” The town center is a full-blown beach town enlivened with murals, brightly painted buildings, and Boto Gelato, an exceptional craft ice cream shop (botogelato.com.br) with a decadent selection of only-in-Brazil flavors demanding more than a single scoop order. The main square comes alive at night with buzzy restaurants, bars, and a compact but lively night market with different street food stalls. By day, the marina is a starting point for boat tours and ferries whisking visitors into the natural wonders of Green Lake, Love Beach, and Ponta de Pedras, the “Enchanted Forest” (either navigable on foot or boat depending on the time of year), and the Jari Canal.
A few blocks in the other direction, one will find Via Antônio Agostinho Lobato and a few cross streets lined with several local craft emporiums that stay open late as well as restaurants such as Tribal Restaurante Indígena with Instagram-ready boho beachy décor and an excellent introduction to regional staples such as fresh water fish pirarucu and tambaqui, yuca fries, isca de piraruku (fried fish sticks), bolinho de piraqui (piraqui fish croquettes), and staple condiments tucupi and molho (reminiscent of Mexican pico de gallo).
Eco-lodge Pousada Alter, opened nearly a decade ago, is one of several lodgings accessible from one of Alter do Chão’s main roads. It is also a good location for a small business retreat group or a family with kids to unplug. Founder Denize Resende explains that she not only wants to promote sustainability but also practice what she preaches. Whenever possible, she and her team used reclaimed, recycled, and naturally sourced materials (including bamboo and palm fronds) from the immediate area to construct the roofs, decks, and furnishings. Much of the decorative objects and lampshades come from local artisans. There are 12 cabins in all, but rather than add more, she wants to keep her pousada small in size but broaden its scope and improve the structures so they can withstand the area’s weather systems.
Jardim Vitória-Régia, another woman-owned marvel of ingenuity, is accessible via boat tours down the Jari Canal. Getting there reinforces the popular traveler adage that the journey is as important as the destination. The moment the boat enters the Jari Canal, travelers are in a completely different ecosystem with its plants and wildlife. At the end of the passage, there is a clearing with over 130 giant water lilies surrounding a small house on stilts. Once visitors scale two wood ramps and get seated at a table with a view right out of an Impressionist painting, owner and conservationist Dulce Oliviera explains what led her to build a life and a vision in this tiny corner of the Santarém municipality.
With support from noted academic Rosa Helena Veras Mourão (Institute of Public Health of the Federal University of Western Pará’s Laboratory of Bioprospecting and Experimental Biology), Oliviera set out to not only preserve and cultivate the unique Amazon ecosystem but also serve up a taste of what water lilies have to offer beyond their beauty as they are classified as a “PANC” (Non-Conventional Edible Plant). “(This water lily species) has a high fiber and protein content,” she says as she delivers a tray of vegan edibles to the table, including savory chips, pickles, tempura, peanut brittle, brownies, and churro-like bites. “Its nutritional value means that if enough of it can be grown, it can be an alternative for vegans and vegetarians who need a source of protein. There are also antioxidant properties with the presence of polyphenols found in the leaf and the petiole that benefit everybody.”
In Alter do Chão, and Santarém, chefs and restaurateurs bring fresh twists to time-tested recipes even as they strive to maintain the integrity of the ingredients. Although celebrity chef Saulo Jennings’ “Casa do Saulo” has locations in Belem and Rio de Janeiro, his Casa do Saulo Tapajós is the location worth tracking down because of its chef’s garden, stylish beach club setting, beachfront views that read as ocean more than river, and beautifully plated appetizers and main courses. He describes his menu as Tapajônica cuisine, inspired by his parents’ culinary creativity as well as micro-regional ingredients such as Santarém beans, aviu (shrimp mainly found in the Tapajós region), and tempting tapas made with either manioc or piracuí flour, made from dried salted fish.
Ty Comedoria e Bar combines its upscale beach club sensibility with a dinner menu that integrates local and European sensibilities and features imaginative signature cocktails. Piracema, tucked into one of Santarém’s industrial neighborhoods near its downtown, is a sunny spot awash in yellow. The menu and creative presentation reflect its kitchen takes pride in its pirarucu defumado (smoked pirarucú made by co-owner “Dona Vera”) and has fun getting creative with its elevated treatment of shrimp, tambaqui, filhote, surubim, and pirarucú in both main courses and playful appetizers.
With so much to discover in this corner of Brazil, now may be the perfect time to step through the gateway into the Amazon…no matter what your interests as a traveler may be.
For more information and to book tours, visit visitbrasil.com/en/location/belem-en.