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Uakari Lodge

Unique, eco-friendly floating lodge in Brazil's remote Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve.

Overview

Located within the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve at the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, Uakari Lodge is so much more than a traditional hotel. This floating lodge contains five bungalows and offers a one-of-a-kind perspective that few travelers are lucky enough to experience.

Life at Uakari Floating Lodge

The Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve is a unique ecosystem inhabited by many endemic species, including black-faced squirrel monkeys. During the rainy season of March through July, the region, which is the largest protected flooded forest in the world, is only navigable by boat. During this time, residents in the nearby villages must adapt their daily lives to accommodate the floodwater. Uakari Lodge Amazon stays are the ideal way to experience this lifestyle firsthand.

Here, you will always receive personalized service, thanks to the petite size of the lodge. The five floating bungalows hold two rooms each, for a total of 10 rooms and a maximum capacity of 24 guests. The lodge, which was built for sustainability with solar power, rainwater collection, and tiles made from recycled plastic, is also home to a restaurant, bar, and library. But, you’ll want to spend the bulk of your time on your private deck, which maximizes your views of the floodplains.

Excursions from Uakari Floating Lodge Brazil

While you make yourself at home at Uakari Floating Lodge, you will enjoy a range of activities designed to connect you to local communities and cultures. Plus, you will also participate in the conservation of the local biodiversity. During the rainy season, your excursions will be made through canoe tours. If you choose to visit during the dry season, boat-based activities will mingle with hikes and leisurely forest walks. You are sure to delight in dolphin watching, piranha fishing, sunset boat rides, and village visits. You may even have the chance to spot a jaguar.

Community connections at Uakari Lodge

Most travelers journey to the Amazon in search of a unique wildlife experience and to see the famous river and rainforest. While you will come away from a stay at Uakari Lodge fulfilled by closeness with nature, you will also leave with an unexpected connection to the people and villages of the rainforest. Uakari Lodge is dedicated to strengthening local communities.

The majority of employees at the lodge, including management, guides, cooks, and housekeepers, are residents of nearby riverside communities. These valued staff members work on a rotating basis, staying at the lodge for ten days per month before returning home. This system allows staff members to balance economic activity with a traditional lifestyle.

Whether you visit during the rainy season to see the flooded forest or opt to come during the dry months for an expanded range of activities, you are in for a one-of-a-kind experience. The dynamic environment is ideal for active travelers, wildlife lovers, and anyone looking for an experience that leaves the beaten path behind.

Itineraries & Prices

All itineraries are subject to change due to seasonal weather conditions (and resultant variations in river and tributary water levels) affecting accessibility to locations. Thus navigation routes, times and excursions may need to be modified at the cruise captain’s or your guide's discretion.

1 / 3
4-Day
5-Day
8-Day

4 Day - Regular Program

itinerary map

Arrival & Trail / Boat Ride

Today is a sample itinerary. Program activities may vary according to the time of year you are visiting the lodge.

AM: We start our services with pick-up at the airport or a hotel in Tefé. Then, we are driven to the port of Lago Tefé, where our motorboat leaves for a trip of one and a half hours. Right after departure, we pass the "meeting of the waters", where the black waters of Lake Tefé meet the white waters of the Solimões River.

The trip is a complete experience in itself. We observe the impressive dimensions of the Solimões River and once we enter the Mamirauá Reserve we see local riverside communities and their stilt houses, many of the more than 350 species of birds, mammals, and aquatic animals such as caimans, botos, and arapaimas, the largest fish in the Amazonian waters.

PM: We are welcomed in the impressive floating accommodation by the local manager, the ecotourism counselor, and the entire team, in a warm welcome. We are then instructed on the tours schedule and safety procedures. Right after check-in, we will have lunch - always with lots of fresh food, mostly produced locally in the communities. We follow local tradition and rest in the hottest hours of the day. At 3:30 pm we head to our first activity in the program - an interpretive trail, where local guides will tell us about the várzea floodplain ecosystem and introduce the traditional use of many of their trees. In the period when the waters are already rising, flooding the trails and the entire forest, we take this introductory tour on a boat, observing many species of fauna and flora from the main channel.d

Dinner is served at 7 pm, followed by a presentation on the history of the Mamirauá Reserve and the projects being developed by the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute, a research unit financed and supervised by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation of Brazil.

Uakari Lodge's 4-Day Regular Program Day One - Arrival to the lodge.
Location
Tefé - Uakari Lodge
Day
1 / 4

Community Visit & Canoeing

Today is a sample itinerary. Program activities may vary according to the time of year you are visiting the lodge.

AM: Mornings start early at Uakari lodge! At 6:30 am we have breakfast and leave for activities at 7:00 am, enjoying the coolest moments of the day and the hours when the forest is full of sounds and movements. The first thing we will do today is to visit a riverside community. A local guide takes us on a tour around his community, shows daily life by the river in a lowland forest - remembering that water levels can rise and fall about 12 meters each year, which requires a great adaptation of the local population!

PM: We return to the lodge, have lunch and have free time to rest, chat with the residents, read in the lodge's library, or watch a documentary. At 3:30 pm we will have a rowing canoe tour, the most traditional vessel among the indigenous and riverside inhabitants. If we are already in the flooded period it is possible to enter the flooded forest, or igapó as it is known here - an experience that you will never forget. The silence of the canoe that slides through the waters, very close to the treetops, will be interrupted by the howl of the howler monkeys, the birdsong, or the diving of the aquatic animals.

In the evening, after dinner, the biologists who conduct research in the area will come to the lodge to introduce the world of science, bringing information about a local animal, the result of their work, and how scientific research helps the development of conservation strategies in the Reserve.

Location
Uakari Lodge
Day
2 / 4

Boat Ride & Night Drive

Today is a sample itinerary. Program activities may vary according to the time of year you are visiting the lodge.

AM: After breakfast (with many of the local fruits and delicacies made from manioc) we set off for a walk. On this trail, we will be able to see many of the trees and Amazonian animals, with luck we will be able to know the squirrel monkeys, the groups of howler monkeys, or even the white uakari monkeys. We have a 14-track system, and our ecotourism counselors will make sure that we are always in a new area. During the flooded season, we use the same trails where we walk in the dry season, but they are traveled by canoe! It is impressive to observe the ability of our local guides to orient themselves in the igapó.

PM: We return for lunch and relax for a few hours in the hammocks on the balconies of our rooms that are overlooking the river. We leave at 3:30 pm for a boat trip on Lake Mamirauá. It is our biggest trip in the reserve and you will learn more about the history of the area from the point of view of the local guides.

When we arrive at the lake, we have a snack while enjoying the sunset, always a spectacle of colors. On the way back, the spotlights are used to see nocturnal animals such as the huge caimans, which can be up to 4 meters long. Dinner and free time in the evening.

Uakari Lodge's 4-Day Regular Program Day Three - Boat Ride.
Location
Uakari Lodge
Day
3 / 4

Departure

AM: These are our last moments at Uakari lodge. Breakfast at 6:15 am and we leave at 7:00 am for Tefé (to the airport or a hotel). The whole team will be available for photos and goodbyes, always very emotional moments that are in the memory of us all!

Uakari Lodge's 4-Day Regular Program Day Four - Departure.
Location
Uakari Lodge
Day
4 / 4
1 / 4

5 Day - Regular Program

itinerary map

Arrival & Trail / Boat Ride

Today is a sample itinerary. Program activities may vary according to the time of year you are visiting the lodge.

AM: We start our services with pick-up at the airport or a hotel in Tefé. Then, we are driven to the port of Lake Tefé, where our motorboat leaves for a trip of one and a half hours. Right after departure, we pass the "meeting of the waters", where the black waters of the lake meet the white waters of the Solimões River.

The trip is a complete experience in itself. We observe how long the Solimões River is and once we enter the Mamirauá Reserve we see local riverside communities and their stilt houses, many of the more than 350 species of birds, mammals, and aquatic animals such as caimans, botos, and arapaimas, the largest fish in the Amazonian waters.

PM: We are welcomed into the impressive floating accommodation by the local manager, the ecotourism counselor, and the entire team, in a warm welcome. We are then instructed on the tours schedule and safety procedures. Right after check-in, we will have lunch - always with lots of fresh food, produced locally in the communities. We follow the local tradition and rest until 3:30 pm when we head to our first activity in the program - an interpretive trail, where the local guides will go tell us about the várzea floodplain ecosystem and present the traditional use of many of its trees. In the period when the waters are already rising, flooding the trails and the entire forest, we take this introductory tour on a boat, observing many species of fauna and flora from the main channel.

Dinner is served at 7 pm, after which we attend a presentation on the history of the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve and the projects being developed by the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute, a research unit financed and supervised by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation of Brazil.

Uakari Lodge's 5-Day Regular Program Day One - Jungle Exploration.
Location
Tefé - Uakari Lodge
Day
1 / 5

Jungle Hike & Piranha Fishing

Today is a sample itinerary. Program activities may vary according to the time of year you are visiting the lodge.

AM: Mornings start early at Uakari lodge! At 6:30 am we have breakfast and leave for activities at 7:00 am, enjoying the coolest moments of the day and the hours when the forest is full of sounds and movements. We will take a hike and we will be able to see many of the trees and Amazonian animals, with luck we will be able to know the squirrel monkeys, the groups of howler monkeys or even the white uakari monkeys. During the flooded season, we use the same trails where we walk in the dry season, but we travel them in a rowing canoe! It is impressive to observe the ability of our local guides to orient themselves in the igapó - as the flooded forest is known here.

PM: We go back to the lodge for another delicious lunch. Again the rest is until 3:30 pm, when we head for our second activity of the day - traditional fishing for piranhas, iconic fish, and very abundant in this region. With the help of local guides, you will learn why they can be so dangerous! In the flooded season we go in a large canoe to a place where we will see the graceful dolphins of the Amazon, the fun challenge is to be able to photograph them.

Uakari Lodge's 5-Day Regular Program Day Two - Kayaking Excursion.
Location
Uakari Lodge
Day
2 / 5

Rainforest Trail & Sunset Ride

Today is a sample itinerary. Program activities may vary according to the time of year you are visiting the lodge.

AM: After breakfast (with many of the local fruits and delicacies made from manioc) we set off on a trail. Today the walk (if we are in the low water period) is longer and we will be able to see many of the Amazonian trees and animals. During the high water season, we will also take a longer tour on board a rowing canoe. We have a 14-track system, so we’ll always do different trails.

PM: We return for lunch and relax for a few hours in the hammocks on the balconies of our rooms that are overlooking the river. We leave at 3:30 pm for a boat trip to Lake Mamirauá. It is our biggest trip in the reserve and you will learn more about the history of the area from the point of view of the local guides. When we arrive at the lake, we have a snack while enjoying the sunset, always a spectacle of colors. On the way back, the spotlights are used to see nocturnal animals such as the huge caimans, which can be up to 4 meters long. Dinner and free time in the evening.

Uakari Lodge's 5-Day Regular Program Day Three - Boat Ride.
Location
Uakari Lodge
Day
3 / 5

Community Visit & Canoeing

Today is a sample itinerary. Program activities may vary according to the time of year you are visiting the lodge.

AM: After breakfast, we leave at 7:00 am, the first thing we will do today is to visit a local riverside community. A local guide takes us on a tour around his community, shows daily life by the river in a lowland forest - remembering that water levels can rise and fall about 12 meters each year, which requires a great adaptation of the local population!

PM: We return to the lodge to have lunch and then free time to rest, chat with the residents, read in the lodge's library, or watch a documentary. In the afternoon, we leave at 3:30 pm for our last immersion in the reserve: a rowing canoe trip in the dry season and in the flooded season a traditional piranha fishing!

In the evening, after dinner, the biologists who conduct research in the area will come to the lodge to introduce the world of science, bringing information about a local animal, the result of their work, and how scientific research helps the development of conservation strategies in the Reserve.

Uakari Lodge's 5-Day Regular Program Day Four -  Riverside Community Visit.
Location
Uakari Lodge
Day
4 / 5

Departure

AM: These are our last moments at Uakari lodge. Breakfast at 6:15 am and we leave at 7:00 am for Tefé (to the airport or a hotel). The whole team will be available for photos and goodbyes, always very emotional moments that are in the memory of us all!

Uakari Lodge's 5-Day Regular Program Day Five - Departing the lodge.
Location
Uakari Lodge
Day
5 / 5
1 / 5

8 Day - Regular Program

itinerary map

Arrival & Trail / Boat Ride

Today is a sample itinerary. Program activities may vary according to the time of year you are visiting the lodge.

AM: We start our services with pick-up at the airport or at a hotel in Tefé. Then, we are driven to the port of Lago Tefé, where our motorboat leaves for a trip of one and a half hours. Right after departure, we pass the "meeting of the waters", where the black waters of Lake Tefé meet the white waters of the Solimões River.

The trip is a complete experience in itself. We observe the impressive dimensions of the Solimões River and once we enter the Mamirauá Reserve we see local riverside communities and their stilt houses, many of the more than 350 species of birds, mammals, and aquatic animals such as caimans, botos, and arapaimas, the largest fish in the Amazonian waters.

PM: We are welcomed in the impressive floating accommodation by the local manager, the ecotourism counselor, and the entire team, in a warm welcome. We are then instructed on the tours schedule and safety procedures. Right after check-in, we will have lunch - always with lots of fresh food, mostly produced locally in the communities. We follow local tradition and rest in the hottest hours of the day. At 3:30 pm we head to our first activity in the program - an interpretive trail, where local guides will tell us about the várzea floodplain ecosystem and introduce the traditional use of many of their trees. In the period when the waters are already rising, flooding the trails and the entire forest, we take this introductory tour on a boat, observing many species of fauna and flora from the main channel.

Dinner is served at 7 pm, followed by a presentation on the history of the Mamirauá Reserve and the projects being developed by the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute, a research unit financed and supervised by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation of Brazil.

Uakari Lodge's 8-Day Regular Program Day One - Welcome to the lodge.
Location
Tefé - Uakari Lodge
Day
1 / 8

Jungle Hike & Piranha Fishing

Today is a sample itinerary. Program activities may vary according to the time of year you are visiting the lodge.

AM: Mornings start early at Uakari lodge! At 6:30 am we have breakfast and leave for activities at 7:00 am, enjoying the coolest moments of the day and the hours when the forest is full of sounds and movements. We will take a hike and we will be able to see many of the trees and Amazonian animals, with luck we will be able to know the squirrel monkeys, the groups of howler monkeys or even the white uakari monkeys. During the flooded season, we use the same trails where we walk in the dry season, but we travel them in a rowing canoe! It is impressive to observe the ability of our local guides to orient themselves in the igapó - as the flooded forest is known here.

PM: We go back to the lodge for another delicious lunch. Again the rest is until 3:30 pm, when we head for our second activity of the day - traditional fishing for piranhas, iconic fish, and very abundant in this region. With the help of local guides, you will learn why they can be so dangerous!

Uakari Lodge's 8-Day Regular Program Day Two - Exploring by kayak.
Location
Uakari Lodge
Day
2 / 8

Trail / Canoeing & Sunset Ride

Today is a sample itinerary. Program activities may vary according to the time of year you are visiting the lodge.

AM: After breakfast (with many of the local fruits and delicacies made from manioc) we set off for another trail in the forest, either walking or with the traditional canoes. We have a 14-track system, and our ecotourism counselors will make sure that we are always in a new area. With the immense biodiversity of the Amazon, we always find new things along the way.

PM: We return for lunch and relax for a few hours in the hammocks on the balconies of our rooms that are overlooking the river. We leave at 3:30 pm for a boat trip on Lake Mamirauá. It is our biggest trip in the reserve and you will learn more about the history of the area from the point of view of the local guides.

When we arrive at the lake, we have a snack while enjoying the sunset, always a spectacle of colors. On the way back, the spotlights are used to see nocturnal animals such as the huge caimans, which can be up to 4 meters long. Dinner and free time in the evening.

Uakari Lodge's 8-Day Regular Program Day Three - Exploring the river at dusk.
Location
Uakari Lodge
Day
3 / 8

Community Visit & Canoeing

Today is a sample itinerary. Program activities may vary according to the time of year you are visiting the lodge.

AM: After breakfast, leaving as usual at 7:00 am, the first thing we will do today is to visit a riverside community. A local guide takes us on a tour around his community, shows daily life by the river in a lowland forest - remembering that water levels can rise and fall about 12 meters each year, which requires a great adaptation of the local population!

PM: At 15:30 pm we will have a rowing canoe ride. In the dry season, we followed the main channel, watching closely the caimans and botos along the way. In the flooded period is another opportunity to explore the flooded forest, a unique experience that you should make the most of! The silence of the canoe that slides through the waters, inside or at the edges of the forest, will only be interrupted by the howl of the howler monkeys, the birdsong, or the diving of the aquatic animals.

In the evening, after dinner, the biologists who conduct research in the area will come to the lodge to introduce the world of science, bringing information about a local animal, the result of their work, and how scientific research helps the development of conservation strategies in the Reserve.

Uakari Lodge's 8-Day Regular Program Day Four - Local Riverside Community Landscapes.
Location
Uakari Lodge
Day
4 / 8

Sunrise Picnic Breakfast & Night House Stay

Today is a sample itinerary. Program activities may vary according to the time of year you are visiting the lodge.

AM: We will leave the lodge before daylight, at 5:30 am one of the local guides will be waiting for us by boat to see the sunrise on the Japurá River! The golden lights invading the entire landscape of river and forest can be enjoyed having a delicious breakfast on the boat wherever we are. This is also a great opportunity to spot botos and tucuxis, graceful mammals that show off to people floating on the water.

PM: We return a little earlier to the lodge, with time to rest before lunch and enjoy the floating facilities. Following our routine at 3:30 pm, we set out to explore another beautiful area of ​​the special eco-tourism zone, heading for a new trail, or the Araçá lake, one of the many wonderful places known by local guides.

After dinner, there is the possibility of a more intimate experience with the forest, staying overnight in our house in the woods, a house approximately 6 meters high, mixing almost with the treetops, sleeping in hammocks, and waking up to the sounds of the forest will surely mark you forever.

Uakari Lodge's 8-Day Regular Program Day Five - Boat Ride at Night.
Location
Uakari Lodge
Day
5 / 8

Community Visit & Lifestyle Experience

Today is a sample itinerary. Program activities may vary according to the time of year you are visiting the lodge.

AM: Now the immersion will be in the riverside life, we will meet another community, just like in the first one, we will be led by a local guide and we will be able to know the lifestyle of the people who live in the reserve.

PM: We will also have lunch in the community, at the home of one of the families who in the afternoon will invite us to accompany one of their traditional activities. We will have dinner at the lodge at the same time every day, then have a lecture on another topic with researchers from the Mamirauá Institute.

Uakari Lodge's 8-Day Regular Program Day Six - Community Lunch.
Location
Uakari Lodge
Day
6 / 8

Canoeing & Sunset Ride

Today is a sample itinerary. Program activities may vary according to the time of year you are visiting the lodge.

AM: In the morning we will do a canoe ride, which always offers one of the best possibilities for wildlife sighting besides the silence for contemplation.

PM: We will have lunch and rest, as usual, the afternoon tour will be to contemplate the sunset on the Japurá River, where the beautiful colors will be the perfect frame to say goodbye to the reserve. We will have dinner at the lodge and the night is free.

Uakari Lodge's 8-Day Regular Program Day Seven - Japura River Sunset.
Location
Uakari Lodge
Day
7 / 8

Departure

AM: These are our last moments at Uakari lodge. Breakfast at 6:15 am and we leave at 7:00 am for Tefé (to the airport or a hotel). The whole team will be available for photos and goodbyes, always very emotional moments that are in the memory of us all!

Location
Uakari Lodge
Day
8 / 8
1 / 8

Accommodations

Social Areas

Bridges
Dining
Front Desk
Hammock
In The Forest
Lobby

Suites & Cabins

Uakari Lodge' Standard Room - Twin. Uakari Lodge's Standard Room. Uakari Lodge' Standard Room. Uakari Lodge' Standard Room. Uakari Lodge' Standard Room - Triple.
10 Cabins

Standard Room

Guests
2 - 4
Size
40 m² / 430 ft²
Beds
Twin / Triple

Designed to be as sustainable as possible, everything is run on solar energy. Each suite has a balcony facing the river, overlooking the forest, with a total of 10 rooms. Triple occupancy can be included for a maximum capacity of 24 guests at the lodge.

Technical Information

Property Layout

Features

  • Cabins with balconies
  • Deck shower
  • Lecture room
  • WIFI available
  • Kosher Meals

Equipment

  • Kayaks / Canoes
** Use of certain equipment at additional cost, ask for details
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