Brazil · Wildlife

5-Hour Green Lake and Enchanted Forest Tour in Alter do Chão

5 Hours Round trip from Alter do Chão Easy pace

The journey

Trip highlights

01 Explore the Enchanted Forest by canoe through a flooded forest
02 Visit four of the six water sources that form Green Lake
03 Spot orchids, palm trees, and other flora adapted to the igapó ecosystem
04 Look for birds, monkeys in the trees, and dolphins in the river

Enter the Green Lake in Alter do Chão and visit four of its six water sources before continuing into the Enchanted Forest on a canoe ride through a flooded Amazonian landscape. Glide slowly through the maze of partly submerged vegetation, where calm waters mirror the treetops and sky. Along the way, observe the rich local flora, including orchids on submerged trunks and palm trees, and keep watch for birds, monkeys in the trees, and dolphins in the river.

Glide slowly through the maze of partly submerged vegetation, where calm waters mirror the treetops and sky.

From the itinerary

At a glance

What this trip includes

Duration 5 Hours

Tour type Shared

Activity level Easy

Accommodation Not included

Transport Not included

Wheelchair access Not applicable

City Santarem

Languages English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish

Day by day

The itinerary

Day 01

Green Lake Water Sources and the Enchanted Forest

Enter the Green Lake with your Santarém tour guide. The lake consists of six water sources, and you will visit four of them.
After visiting these sources, continue to the Enchanted Forest. This part of the tour is a canoe trip that slowly navigates the maze formed by partly submerged vegetation over the water. This phenomenon occurs with the flooding of the region's rivers and the increasing volume of the streams that flow into Green Lake, resulting in an accumulation of water that allows navigation through a flooded forest. Silence and peace reign in this contact with nature, the calm waters reflect the treetops, and the sky seems like a mirror.
As the tour enters the forest, the diversity of fauna and flora becomes even more enchanting. It is possible to identify species of orchids on the submerged tree trunks and palm trees, typical of flooded regions. The canoe tour lasts about 30 to 45 minutes.
Continue your tour around the lake, contemplating different species of birds and looking for monkeys in the trees and dolphins in the river.

The route

Where you'll travel

Tour route map — Round trip from Alter do Chão 1 city · 5 Hours

The fine print

Trip details

What's Included

English-speaking Santarém tour guide
Water
Payment of locals

What's Not Included

Lunch

Know before you go

According to the English newspaper The Guardian, welcome to the most beautiful freshwater beach in the world.
These water sources form a beautiful Amazonian ecosystem called "igapó". From Old Tupi (an Indigenous language), igapó means "root forest", a word used in Brazil for blackwater-flooded forests in the Amazon biome.
These forests and similar swamp forests are seasonally inundated with freshwater, and they typically occur along the lower reaches of river sand around freshwater lakes. The plant species found here are adapted to wetlands. Smaller plants are hydrophilic, meaning they are adapted to flooded regions, with common species including the royal lily, orchids, bromeliads, and others.
The tour will be done in speedboats.

Logistics