There is a way to embrace a thousand years of history: press yourself against the buttress roots of a giant samaúma in the Floresta Nacional do Tapajós. Around 50 km from Santarém, next door to Alter do Chão, the FLONA is one of the most accessible and best organized forest experiences in the Amazon — thanks to the communities who live in it.
What the FLONA is
Created in 1974, the Floresta Nacional do Tapajós is a sustainable-use conservation unit: more than 500,000 hectares of Amazon forest where riverside and Indigenous communities live, tap rubber and oils, make handicrafts and welcome visitors. Tourism here is not a concession for large groups — it is direct income for the people who keep the forest standing.
The giant samaúmas
The most famous trail leaves the community of Jamaraquá and winds to the centuries- and millennia-old samaúmas — colossi tens of meters tall whose buttress roots form walls higher than a person. The largest of them, affectionately called “grandmother”, is estimated at around a thousand years old. Along the way, the guides point out rubber trees in production, water vines and a whole pharmacy of forest plants.
Igarapés and riverside life
In the rainy season, the Jamaraquá igarapé fills and becomes a natural aquarium for canoes to glide through — with luck, manatees appear, along with a festival of birds. The communities offer home-cooked lunches, handicrafts of rubber and seeds, hammock shelters and even overnight stays for those who want to wake to the sound of the forest. Day trips leave from Alter do Chão and Santarém; 2-day itineraries with camping deepen the immersion.
How to visit
- Access is by the Santarém–Cuiabá road (BR-163) as far as Belterra, or by boat along the river.
- Agencies in Alter do Chão run the full day tour with transport, guide and lunch.
- You can also go independently and hire guides at the entrance to the communities — booking ahead secures a place.
- Wear closed shoes, take repellent and water; in the rainy season the trail has mud (and is more beautiful).
Why this visit matters
Every visitor who walks to the samaúmas proves, in practice, that a living forest is worth more than a felled one. The FLONA do Tapajós model — conservation with people inside — is one of the best examples of what ecotourism can do for the Amazon. Leaving without being moved is next to impossible.
🥾 Who is it for?
Effort: moderate — forest trails with heat and muddy stretches to reach the samaúmas. Children: from the age of 8 with the stamina to walk; the ‘grandmother’ samaúma is worth every step. Older travelers and reduced mobility: the short trail to the first giant samaúma is feasible taken slowly; the full route and the igarapé call for full mobility.