There are many lodges in the area around Manaus and it is well-known as one of the main places to go in Brazil to experience the Amazon, and has been for many years, so most people go there. But the Uakari Lodge stands out for several reasons.
In 2025, the lodge only received 653 guests, probably because it requires an extra flight to get there from Manaus, but also because the lodge’s management maintains strict control over annual visitor numbers. The goal is to ensure that tourism remains within safe limits, preventing negative environmental or social impacts within the reserve. So it receives a lot less tourist traffic than most other lodges.
And unlike many other lodges, it is a project built collectively. Over more than 20 years, it has served as a space for continuous learning about what it truly means to develop community based tourism in the Amazon because it is a co management model shared by the communities of the Mamirauá Sector and the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development. This partnership ensures that the lodge operates in a way that is both economically and environmentally sustainable, while remaining aligned with the conservation research and management programs carried out within the reserve.
The Uakari Lodge’s community based tourism model generates benefits that extend far beyond the visitor experience, directly strengthening both the economy and social organization of the reserve’s communities. In 2025 more than 90 community members provided services directly at the lodge, working as guides, housekeepers, cooks, carpenters, maintenance staff and kitchen assistants, while also taking on supervisory and local management roles within the lodge. In addition to service provision, the lodge also supports the local economy by purchasing products and supplies directly from surrounding communities, generating additional income and diversifying household livelihoods. And the Socio Environmental Fee, included in each guest’s stay, generates funds that are distributed among the communities through a point based system created and managed by the communities themselves. The system encourages participation in conservation activities, such as lake monitoring, and ensures that the funds are invested in projects that benefit the collective.
So it is a model that shows it is possible to bring together tourism, conservation and social development within a single project. But it also incorporates research, as there are always scientists conducting research in the reserve and every guest will get to interact with researchers in some way, including getting a presentation and, depending on the time of the year, a field experience with them so that guests can see what it is like to be a scientist in the Amazon. That is not an experience that most other lodges can offer.
And unlike many other lodges, it is a project built collectively. Over more than 20 years, it has served as a space for continuous learning about what it truly means to develop community based tourism in the Amazon because it is a co management model shared by the communities of the Mamirauá Sector and the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development. This partnership ensures that the lodge operates in a way that is both economically and environmentally sustainable, while remaining aligned with the conservation research and management programs carried out within the reserve.
The Uakari Lodge’s community based tourism model generates benefits that extend far beyond the visitor experience, directly strengthening both the economy and social organization of the reserve’s communities. In 2025 more than 90 community members provided services directly at the lodge, working as guides, housekeepers, cooks, carpenters, maintenance staff and kitchen assistants, while also taking on supervisory and local management roles within the lodge. In addition to service provision, the lodge also supports the local economy by purchasing products and supplies directly from surrounding communities, generating additional income and diversifying household livelihoods. And the Socio Environmental Fee, included in each guest’s stay, generates funds that are distributed among the communities through a point based system created and managed by the communities themselves. The system encourages participation in conservation activities, such as lake monitoring, and ensures that the funds are invested in projects that benefit the collective.
So it is a model that shows it is possible to bring together tourism, conservation and social development within a single project. But it also incorporates research, as there are always scientists conducting research in the reserve and every guest will get to interact with researchers in some way, including getting a presentation and, depending on the time of the year, a field experience with them so that guests can see what it is like to be a scientist in the Amazon. That is not an experience that most other lodges can offer.
research scientists at Mamiraua
To the benefit of the visitor's experience, many of Uakari Lodge’s guides were born and raised in the communities so, since childhood, they have learned to observe the behavior of rivers, identify the sounds of birds and monkeys, interpret changes in the forest, and notice signs that would go completely unnoticed by most people. This knowledge does not come solely from technical training. It is the result of generations living in direct relationship with the Amazon rainforest. Parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and neighbors share knowledge about navigation, wildlife, plants, flood cycles, and animal behavior. It is a form of learning built through the daily experience of Amazonian life. It is this lifelong trained perception that transforms the experience of visiting the Amazon for guests.
But alongside their traditional knowledge, guides also participate in continuous training programs developed in partnership with the Mamirauá Institute. Courses, workshops, and field activities help strengthen skills related to safety, group guiding, environmental interpretation, and biodiversity conservation. This combination of practical experience and technical training allows the guides to better convey to visitors a much deeper understanding of the rainforest, going far beyond simply admiring the scenery. Visitors gain a better understanding of how flooded forests function, learn about the Amazon’s water cycles, discover emblematic species, and better understand the relationship between local communities and the territory itself.
But alongside their traditional knowledge, guides also participate in continuous training programs developed in partnership with the Mamirauá Institute. Courses, workshops, and field activities help strengthen skills related to safety, group guiding, environmental interpretation, and biodiversity conservation. This combination of practical experience and technical training allows the guides to better convey to visitors a much deeper understanding of the rainforest, going far beyond simply admiring the scenery. Visitors gain a better understanding of how flooded forests function, learn about the Amazon’s water cycles, discover emblematic species, and better understand the relationship between local communities and the territory itself.
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