parque ecologico januari

Encontras das Aguas (meeting of the waters) had lunch went on a walk and got to see the giant water lilies. Great location, Amazon was magical, the people were being enabled to support them selves with local crafts. What made it fun was my friend Jennifer isn't afraid of anything, not the rickety board walk, and she touched everything I didnt have the guts to touch so its a great place to go with a friend to laugh and see things I would never see anywhere else. Loved the Amazon.

When we visited, the river was at the highest flood. Walkways were under water and ground animals absent. The giant lilies were not in bloom and a little ragged. BUT the monkeys gathered for our bananas and many had tiny babies!

As part of our tour to see Encontras das Aguas (meeting of the waters) we had lunch at Parque Ecologico Januari (good food) and were able to by locally made souvenirs. Then we were instructed to follow a board walk that was quite a few meters off the ground to see the giant lily pads. The boardwalk was very unsteady and I had visions of us plummeting into the caiman infested waters below. And when we got to the end there was a wide open space with the Lilly pads herded and penned in like a bunch of cattle. They were neat to see but felt contrived. After walking back over the board walk we then got into speed boats and drove through the jungle (during the low water season you would walk). It was very cool to ride through the jungle in a boat. We were brought to a huge tree at which the boats stopped and then locals in small canoes descended with wild animals they had captured that, for a price, tourists could hold and take pictures with. The confusing part was that the lead tour guide allowed this even though on the paperwork given when registering for the trip warned that the tour company did not condone this and requested you to not pay these people so that they would stop doing it and leave the animals be. It was really cool to see these animals up close (anacondas, caimen, sloth, monkeys) but I hope they are treated well by their humans. In summary, food was good, souvenirs were good, lily pads ok, tour through jungle good but animals had mixed emotions.

While this is a lovely location, and the ecology of the Lilies is amazing, this was more a shopping opportunity at a folk art market which was actually worth while!

Brings the opportunity to appreciate the birds,the different trees & flowers,animals and even the fish of the area.

The boat tour here was part of a larger Holland America tour but it was nice and peaceful on the lake travelling in 12 - seater covered boats. We did not see animals but lots of birds were resting and doing a little lazy day fishing so the photo ops were good.There are several floating houses in the area and everyone had a friendly wave and had no issues with us getting close enough to sometimes see inside. I enjoyed the chance to see how the locals lived.

Water level was down a little but the lily pads were raggy and very few; the boardwalk is rickity and in parts the railing was loose or broken, so take care in walking on it. The gift shop was nice, the food at the floating restaurant was very nice.

We had a guided tour -- giant lily pads had been attacked by something which they were not able to identify so they were in sad shape. Saw a few monkeys that came down when food was unveiled and 3 bats that were under the top of the dock. Viewed giant termite mounds on several of the nearby trees.

Now I understand what why rain forests are called rain forests. I never saw it rain so hard in my life. I was soaked to my underwear and I loved every minute of it. Seeing victoria water lilies growing in their national habitat was breathtaking. I will never forget this day.

My first wild croc!!! How can I forget! Saw monkeys, butterflies, and pirarucu.From there we had a great trip into the igarape.

I saw and explored the lake in a canoe while traveling with Amazon Clipper Cruise aboard the Premium river boat. I enjoyed seeing the flora and fauna of the area.

Nice to take a boat ride on the lake and see various birds. We had the most annoying tour guide, who kept mumbling to himself and was not projecting his voice. The boat ride into the inner parts of the Amazon was "meh". We had a better trip in the "flooded forest" in a canoe ride. They stop by a caboclos place to see the 3 toed sloth and a Boa.

We took a private tour with Amazon Explorers. Very expensive, but safe and worth it. Meeting of the waters, Lake January, Native village, diving with BOTOS and lunch at Pousada Jacaré. We left from Tropical Hotel pier at 8 am sharp and returned at arround 4 pm. A long speed boat trip, with a local guide and the most extraordinary boatman - Sr. Bida. He took us through some amazing igarapés, turned off the engine so we could hear the forest! great. We didn´t dive - only looked at the Botos beeing fed. Saw some vitorias-regias. Took photos with the Tatuyos - indians and ate a very honest lunch. Had to wait at the restaurant for a tropical storm to pass before returning to Manaus but even that was a thrill. The boat did "flap" a lot. Only acept tours certified by EMBRATUR - help protect our environement. Do not go for the cheap non certified ones!

Bring repellent when you go to this place if you dont want to be bitten alive by mosquito. It is a stunning and beautiful. A bit dissapointed that I did not see many animals, only 1 sloth and couple of birds

We visited the lake during our Amazon River cruises, and whilst we were a little disappointed that we didn't see a greater variety of birds and animals, the highlight was a large family of Capuchin monkeys on the elevated board walk close to the lake where the lilies are found.Visiting in January enables a better viewing experience that near the end of the rain season in June when much of this area is under water.There is a covered area near where the boats dock selling what we found to be expensive tourist items. There is also a large restaurant that on the occasions we were there was not open.