Without a doubt, this will be the most outstanding experience of your trip through Santarém. Especially if you’re willing to take a 15-kilometer round trip to meet a giant 900-year-old samauma, Vovozona.
Belterra, a Paraense municipality 65 km from Santarém, is the address of the Tapajós National Forest, an area of almost 530 thousand hectares, between cities such as Aveiro, Placas and Rurópolis.
Things to do in Santarém and Alter do Chão
Considered one of the most visited in the North and one of the most researched in the Amazon, according to ICMBio, this conservation unit stands out for its sustainable use initiatives involving the local community, such as the production of biojoias, ecological leather and community-based tourism.
The walk to see the Vovozona is hilly and requires willingness. But this 45-meter-high giant is not alone.
In Flona do Tapajós, the walk also goes through chestnut trees, jatobás of more than 30 meters and tauaris, a tree used in indigenous rituals.
How it works
The walk should only be done with the accompaniment of a registered guide, which can be contacted in the Maguari Community itself –tel .: (93) 9 9198-3979 / 9 9145-0227–, in Belterra, after registration of visitors at the control gate. from ICMBio.
Admission to Flona do Tapajós is free and the guide service costs an average of R$ 100 (group of up to 5 people). On the way back, it is possible to have lunch on site for R$ 25, whose structure also has network hosting (R$ 25 with breakfast).
Due to difficulties in reaching samauma, guides from Santarém and Alter do Chão often offer an alternative trail in the Jamara community to see a smaller specimen of samauma. But nothing compares to the giant community of Maguari.
