Pará and the Secrets of the Rainforest

Far away from the well-known metropolises, and covered by the seemingly endless Amazon Rainforest, lies the state of Pará in the north of Brazil. This seemingly remote state is not usually found on a Brazil trip itinerary, yet Pará is a particularly important state as it directly borders the state of Amazonas to the west, and the entire lower course of the Amazon River is found in Pará. Travelers who want to experience the secrets of the rainforest on a trip to Brazil will discover unique nature in Pará, immerse themselves in the life of the people of the Amazon, and enjoy culinary surprises.

Cultural highlights, such as the Sairé festival full of colorful Carimbó dances, enchant locals and visitors every year. Travelers who want to experience Brazil's history will find numerous historical sites in Pará , such as the old colonial town of Belém, the abandoned rubber plantations and ghost towns of Fordlândia, and the rock paintings of Brazil's first indigenous people in the state park of Monte Alegre.

To understand the enormous size of the state, as well as the social and ecological contexts of the land, which are often unknown to travelers to Brazil, it is worthwhile to take a look at a few geographical figures.
Pará is Brazil's second-largest state after Amazonas, with an area of 481,033 square miles (1,245,870 square kilometers), making it roughly the size of all of Angola, or three times larger than California. This means an air-line distance of about 850 miles (1,350 kilometers) in a north-south direction and over 700 miles (1,000 kilometers) from east to west. However, only about 8.5 million people live here, roughly as much as in New York City.
Pará is bordered to the north by Suriname and Guyana, and is surrounded nationally by the states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima.
Belém, the state’s capital, is the largest city with about 1.5 million inhabitants, followed by the cities of Santarém and Marabá, each with about 300,000 inhabitants.
Pará's vast area is not well connected by the official road network and most of the state is still largely covered by the Amazon rainforest. There are also isolated areas where vegetation of the Cerrado and mangrove forests can be found along the Atlantic coast.
Apart from the Amazon River itself, some of the largest rivers in Brazil and South America flow through Pará. These include the Rio Tapajós, the Rio Xingu, and the Rio Tocantins.

On a trip to Pará, visitors should not miss out on nature’s culinary treasures. The cuisine of Pará has been named the best in Brazil, although it should be noted that the comparison with other regions is not quite fair, since many of the ingredients are not found throughout Brazil but are products specific to the Amazon rainforest. The basis of most dishes is the cassava plant, whose roots, leaves, juice, and starch are processed in a wide variety of ways.

The internationally known Brazil nut, as the name suggests, comes from Pará and is known here as the Castanha do Pará. The trees that grow Brazil nuts are unmistakable as they usually tower high above the other trees of the forest with tall, straight trunks, forming a characteristic rounded tree crown. Brazil nuts are sold directly at street market stalls and are mostly used as an ingredient in confectionery.

Caju has also found its place in the international market. Europeans have adopted the indigenous name, albeit with a different spelling, as the Castanha de Caju is known throughout the world only as cashew nut. The pear-shaped fruits, from which the nut hangs below, are very sweet, fruity, and fibrous, with a thin skin. They are best eaten straight from the tree, which is how the locals do it, biting off a piece from the top and sucking out the sweet juice. The fruits have a short shelf life after harvest and must be processed directly. They are usually boiled down and sold in small portions as Doce de Caju. The intensely sweet smell of the fruit permeates the whole state of Pará during caju season.

Açai is another fruit that is an integral part of life in Pará. The small, dark berries grow in clusters on the tall, slender palms of the acai trees. The rich fruit is beaten in a kind of cylinder so that the thin pulp separates from the seeds, which is then sold as a puree. Unlike other parts of the country, in Pará, pure açai is eaten sweet or salty as a side dish with fish.
Because açai turns sour within a few hours and loses some of its flavors after freezing, locals agree that real açai does not exist outside of Pará.
Açai, albeit in diluted form, can be sampled by Brazil travelers in juice bars throughout the entire country.

The state of Pará today, due to its history, has one of the greatest ethnic diversities in Brazil. Apart from the inhabitants of European origin, more than 55 ethnic indigenous groups live here in 64 different reservations, speaking three dozen languages. Indigenous tribes include the Carib, Macro Jê, Pano, Nheengatu, Tupi, Juruna, and Munduruku, among others. But there are also tribes that remain isolated to this day, such as the Ituna Itatá, who live in a reservation on the Rio Xingu.

In percentage terms, most people in Pará live in the cities of Belém, Santarém, Marabá, and Altamira.
The riverbanks are largely inhabited by the Ribeirinhos, whose wooden houses are mostly built on stilts. The Ribeirinhos have European, African, and largely indigenous roots, but do not belong to any specific tribe.
Many of Pará's indigenous inhabitants live in seclusion along the small tributaries in village communities, or Aldeias in Portuguese. This seclusion has to do with the displacement and extermination of the indigenous people during the colonial period by the Europeans.

Today, the traditional life and habitat of the people are severely threatened by illegal deforestation, land theft, and uncontrolled gold mining.
But also legal projects of international corporations of raw material extraction or national energy companies have a great impact on the life of the people and nature in Pará.

One of the most famous and controversial projects is the dam of the Belo Monte hydroelectric power plant on the Rio Xingu, near the city of Altamira. The construction was completed in 2019. With a capacity of 11,250 megawatts, it is number five among the world's most powerful hydropower plants. As a result of the flooding of more than 193 square miles (500 square kilometers), up to 40,000 residents, most of them indigenous, have had to leave their ancestral lands and be relocated. In addition, there are as yet unforeseeable consequences for the local flora and fauna and the fish population of the Rio Xingu.

Surrounding villages are also fundamentally affected by such large-scale projects, as can be seen in some examples. In a positive sense, jobs are created and many social projects and infrastructure can be financed. But there are also negative effects, as the small jungle towns are not prepared for explosive growth. The rapid influx of many, mostly young people in search of employment opportunities, whose expectations cannot be met, is unfortunately associated with growing poverty neighborhoods and rising crime rates.

Pará is unfortunately often referred to as Terra sem Lei, or "Land without Law", and is considered by many Brazilians to be a problem child because, apart from its social problems, the state also has the highest deforestation rates in Brazil.
The preservation of culture, the fight against social disparities, and the search for a balance between indigenous roots, historical colonial social structures, and industrial growth are among Pará's great challenges for the future.

The gateway to Pará is the capital city of Belém, located in the Amazon estuary delta on the Atlantic Ocean. Visitors can expect a picturesque old town, bustling port facilities, and impressive markets where a full range of Amazon products can be found.

About three hours by boat from Belém, between the Amazon River and the Rio Pará, lies the largest fluvial-maritime island in the world, Ilha de Marajó. The island is world-famous, especially among birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts. The interplay of dense rainforest, seasonally flooded forests, mangroves, and scrubland creates the basis for particularly high biodiversity. Another highlight is the domesticated water buffaloes, which are used for farm work due to their cross-country mobility, but interestingly enough they are also used by the mounted police.

Halfway between Belém and Manaus, each an hour's flight away, lies Santarém, directly on the tributary of the Rio Tapajós into the Amazon. The city is a bit more manageable, although it is not often visited by tourists, it offers a small historical center, fish market, busy port facilities, and other markets with a diversity of local products.

Just 18.6 miles (30 kilometers) from Santarém lies the gem of Pará, the fishing village of Alter do Chão on the banks of the Rio Tapajós. The clear water and endless white beaches have earned the village the nickname "The Caribbean of the Amazon". Alter do Chão attracts visitors from all over the world, has excellent, international award-winning restaurants serving local cuisine, is the venue for numerous festivals, and is considered a starting point for tours into the adjacent rainforest. For three days in September, the traditional Sairé Festival is also celebrated here, attracting large crowds of visitors and filling a stadium built especially for the occasion.

Brazil travelers can reach Pará by air internationally via Belém, or by domestic flight via Brasília, Manaus, Salvador or Fortaleza.
Land travel is possible via the BR 163 federal highway from Cuiabá to Santarém, or via the infamous Transamazônica, which traverses the state from east to west. However, both roads are only something for true adventurers, as trucks repeatedly get stuck on the unpaved sections and the routes can be blocked for days. The huge area of Pará is only crossed by these two roads, which are still not completely paved.
If you want to experience Pará and the Amazon by boat, you can take one of the passenger ships that sail up and down the Amazon River. However, if traveling by boat it is important to dedicate enough time as the route from Belém to Manaus, for example, can take up to a week.
Travelers who are looking for a bit of adventure on a Brazil vacation, who want to avoid well-known tourist paths, and who want to enjoy a very unique perspective of Brazil, will find exactly what they are looking for in Pará!

Sources: ibge.gov.br, www.funai.gov.br, www.pa.gov.br