São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas Brazil

São Gabriel da Cachoeira

São Gabriel da Cachoeira is a Brazilian city, located on the shores of the Rio Negro River in the state of Amazonas. Cachoeira is a Portuguese word denoting waterfalls and rapids.
The majority of the inhabitants (90%) are native Indians. In 2003, Nheengatu, a language used by several of the Indian tribes, became an official language along with Portuguese in São Gabriel da Cachoeira.

The government began an ambitious project in 2006 aimed in turning the city into a large tourist center, with three thematic hotels - ethnic, culture and eco resorts.
São Gabriel da Cachoeira is located on the left margin of the Rio Negro, about 530 miles from Manaus. It has a strategic position bordering the countries of Columbia and Venezuela. Due to this strategic location there is a large military presence and most of the soldiers are Indians. The city is surrounded by the Amazon Forest.

The region along the Rio Negro includes 430 settlements that house 35 thousand Indians of 23 different groups.

The city is also a base for mountaineers seeking to climb Pico da Neblina, the highest peak in Brazil.

Pico da Neblina National Park is the second largest park in Brazil, and the third largest in Latin America. With a diversity of landscapes it offers a wide variety of challenges to hikers and explorers.

Neblina Peak, with an altitude of 3,014 m, is the highest point in Brazil and a permanent target of attention by scientists and researchers.

The area is home to the richest fauna in the country, with many species of plant threatened with extinction.

Visitors to park should always have a guide to avoid the chance of getting lost.

Morro da Fortaleza is another place tourists should take the time to see. See the trenches of this fort built in 1763. A must visit attraction is the Anta (tapir) stone and its strange high relief drawings; a leg, animal vessels, and a human foot print. According to legend it is the petrified remains of a tapir which fed a hungry tribe that roamed through the region.

More in the next edition.