A Floating Freshwater Pool in the Amazon River

A Floating Freshwater Pool in the Amazon River

With the arrival of summer in the northern hemisphere, several travelers are looking for tropical destinations to spend their vacations. In the Brazilian Amazon, during this period, the temperature remains high and is accompanied by a rise in the volume of the rivers, which allows for canoe trips. At the Juma Amazon Lodge in Autazes, 3 hours away from Manaus city by boat and car, these tours are combined with trekking inside the rainforest, visits to local communities and bathing in a natural swimming pool amidst the nature of the Amazon.

There is a floating deck on the Juma river in front of the hotel, with an area for sunbathing, reading, drinking a caipirinha or simply admiring the landscape. The pool with river water is 8 meters long by 5 meters wide (16 ft) and 2.5 meters deep (8 ft). It is made of steel screen that allows the passage of water from the river, but not fish or caymans.

Amazon river boat interior

Surrounded by the jungle, Juma Amazon Lodge is in a preserved area of 7,000 hectares (around 17,300 acres). Its bungalows (facing the jungle or facing the Juma River) are stilt houses similar to native dwellings, built from wood and thatched with babaçu straw (a native palm tree). In July of 2018, the lodge inaugurated six new bungalows for families (4 people). Recently, the hotel was elected by Booking.com as one of the five great places of the world for relaxing and feeding your soul.

Every day, guests explore the Amazon Jungle by canoeing through the forest to observe birds such as uirapuru and jaçanã, besides trees of diverse species. In this time, they cross the forest by igapós (vegetation of flooded areas). On other tours you can visit the home of a local dweller or a sumaúma, an Amazon tree which is over 40 meters high and 100 years old.

Sustainability – Besides using solar energy to warm the water and power its lights, Juma Amazon Lodge is very diligent with a correct discard for the garbage and sewer produced by the hotel. A sewage treatment plant is used and all the garbage is separated and sent to a recycling center. The hotel was awarded the Green Leaders stamp from the travel site TripAdvisor in 2017.

More information: www.jumalodge.com

Top photo: River swimming pool of Juma Amazon Lodge (credit: Dayana Souza)