Besides being the world’s largest rain forest, the Amazon has several large cities near that make it a beautiful and touristic place. The nearby cities come mostly from Brazil and Peru. The following are the cities located near the Amazon: Manus (Brazil), Santarem (Brazil), Belem (Brazil) and Iquitos (Peru).
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Manaus, Brazil
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Santarem, Brazil
Located 930 miles upriver from Belem, Santarem is a sleepy city of some 262,000 inhabitants. The city is famous for its location at the junction of the Tapajos and Amazon rivers. This "meeting of the waters" is a popular tourist attraction; because the two rivers have distinct mineral compositions, the blue-green water of the Tapajos and the muddy currents of the Amazon flow side-by-side without mixing. Eighteen miles from Santarem along the Tapajos River, the village of Alter-do-Chao sports an excellent river beach. |
Belem, Brazil
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Iquitos, Peru
The largest city in the Peruvian Amazon, Iquitos has no road connections to the rest of the county. As a result, visitors must enter the city by plane or by boat. Once there, they will discover a unique city with many highlights, including the neo-gothic main church, which towers over the city's main square. The nearby village of Belen consists of buildings built on balsa rafts so that is can rise and fall with the river tides. |