Uacari Floating Lodge is located in Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve. It's a site recognized by UNESCO as part of the Natural Heritage of Humanity, and it's also the first sustainable development protected area created in Brazil.
Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve is a state protected area with an extension of 1.124.000 ha, located between Solimões, Japurá and Auti-Paraná rivers. It's the biggest protected flooded forest in the world. Only 4% of Brazilian Amazon consists of freshwater swamp forest and Mamirauá Reserve plays an important role to protect this ecosystem. It's inserted in the Central Amazon Corridor and it's part of the Amazon Biosphere Reserve. Besides, it's a recognized Brazilian reserve by Ramsar Convention, that protects wetlands of great importance. Every year the reserve goes through high and low water levels. The variation among the crest of these two stages is about 10 to 12 meters. The flood variation, the geological history and geography of the place give Mamirauá high levels of endemism and particular species.
Started in 1998, Uacari is managed by shared management among Mamirauá Institute and the communities from Mamirauá Reserve. The enterprise's aim is to generate income for the local people and to contribute to natural resources' preservation. Eight communities from the reserve act managing the Lodge, the employees, the contractors and the salespeople. Uacari Lodge's operation is a performance line of Mamirauá Institute's community-based tourism program.
Uacari Lodge floats peacefully. It consists of 5 bungalows with two rooms and two bathrooms in each bungalow. Each room has a porch with a view of the river and the forest. In total, there are 10 rooms with the capacity of 20 guests. The Lodge has a central floating area with a small deck, a kitchen, a restaurant, a bar, a video room and a library.
The facilities are sustainable. The energy comes form the sun. The rain is collected and kept. The effluents are treated before coming back to the river. The tiles are ecological, made of recycled PET from plastic bottles.
Uacari Lodge's menu matches Brazilian and regional food. There is seasonal fresh fruit, beiju, homemade bread, juice, coffee and milk.
The typical Brazilian rice and beans are delicious as well as the salad and one or two vegeterian dish for lunch and dinner. In Amazonian cuisine it's impossible to be missing any type of fish as well as a chicken dish. After the meals, it's good to taste a delicious dessert, made with typical Amazon fruit. Observe and try some Amazon typical fruit such as açai and cupuaçu. They aren't available all months. You can also find sapodilla fruit, camu camu, araza, pineapple and passionfruit.
The Mamirauá ecotourism programme offers a series of activities including excursions with local guides in channels, lakes and trails in the forest; visits to local riverine villages in order to interact and get to know the Amazonian population way of life and also the unique opportunity to contribute to a pioneer conservation project.
