Note – This lodge closed in 2016.
Situated only 35 miles from Manaus, Brazil, at the point where the Rio Negro and Ariau Creek meet, Ariau Amazon Towers is the largest complex of treehouses in the Amazon Rainforest. This huge collection of treehouses consists of seven towers and 250 apartments and suites, all located on stilts and connected by no fewer than five miles of 70-foot-high canopy boardwalks.
Ariau Amazon Towers is an impressive architectural feat, entirely constructed on elevated platforms in order to keep impact in the fragile soil and wetlands below as minimal as possible, while also offering guests truly spectacular views of both the rainforest and river. Its location on the right bank of the Rio Negro and right at the start of the unique Anavilhanas archipelago, which is the world’s largest freshwater archipelago, allows for a wide variety of activities.
Accommodation is available in 250 individual units, ranging from standard single, double and triple rooms to suites, which are situated higher up in the trees and are more spacious and luxurious. The Tarzan suites are the resort’s most exclusive units, essentially private treehouses with private balconies and living rooms. All units are connected to one another by elevated wooden boardwalks, which total about five miles in length and run through the rainforest canopy.
Additional, communal facilities at Ariau Amazon Towers include two treetop swimming pools, a health club, two treetop amphitheaters for events and cultural performances, four bars, a cyber café, and two restaurants serving Brazilian and regional specialties in buffet-style.
The resort offers its guests a wide range of activities. They range from visits to the houses of natives to canoeing on the Rio Negro, jungle trekking, fishing on piranhas and nighttime excursions to spot nocturnal animals. Additionally, guests can go and see the “meeting of the waters” at the confluence of the Rio Negro and Solimoes River. Because of the rivers’ water’s different temperatures and densities, they don’t mix and continue to run alongside each other for more than four miles, creating a unique natural spectacle.
