Novo Airão (or New Airão) is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
located in the state of
Amazonas in northern
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
on the
Rio Negro River about 180 km upstream of
Manaus. Its population was 19,928 (2020) and its area is 37,771 km². The town is reachable both by river and road.
History
The region where New Airão now exists was originally inhabited by Indigenous people, including
Waimiri-Atroari,
Crichanã,
Carabinari and
Jauaperi. In 1668, Jesuits founded a settlement at the mouth of the
Jaú River named
Santo Elias de Jau. This settlement is believed to have been the second or third nucleus of settlement organized by the Portuguese in Amazonian lands. In 1759, the village was elevated to a town with the name Airão by
Joaquim de Melo Póvoas, first governor of the . Later, the district around Airão became part of Manaus and when it was dismembered in 1938, became New Airão.
Conservation
The municipality contains part of the
Anavilhanas National Park
Anavilhanas National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional de Anavilhanas) is a national park that encompasses a huge river archipelago in the Rio Negro in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. It is part of a World Heritage Site.
Location
The park is in the m ...
, a conservation unit that was originally an ecological station created in 1981, as well half of the
Jau National Park, declared by UNESCO Natural Heritage of Humanity.
It holds about 24% of the
Rio Negro Left Bank Environmental Protection Area
The Rio Negro Left Bank Environmental Protection Area ( pt, Área de Proteção Ambiental Margem Esquerda do Rio Negro) is an environmental protection area in the state of Amazonas, Brazil.
It protects an area of Amazon rainforest on the left ba ...
, a sustainable use conservation area created in 1995.
It also contains the
Rio Negro State Park North Section
The Rio Negro State Park North Section ( pt, Parque Estadual do Rio Negro Setor Norte) is a state park in the state of Amazonas, Brazil.
It protects an area of Amazon rainforest to the west of the Rio Negro.
Location
The Rio Negro State Park Nor ...
, created in 1995.
To the south of the state park the municipality contains about 60% of the
Rio Negro Right Bank Environmental Protection Area
The Rio Negro Right Bank Environmental Protection Area ( pt, Área de Proteção Ambiental Margem Direita do Rio Negro) is an Environmental protection area (APA) in the state of Amazonas, Brazil.
Location
Parts of the Rio Negro Right Bank Envir ...
, a sustainable use conservation unit that controls use of an area of
Amazon rainforest along the
Rio Negro above the junction with the
Solimões River
Solimões () is the name often given to upper stretches of the Amazon River in Brazil from its confluence with the Rio Negro upstream to the border of Peru.
Geography
The Amazon / Solimões river just above the confluence of the Solimões and ...
.
It also contains about 16% of the
Rio Negro Sustainable Development Reserve
The Rio Negro Sustainable Development Reserve ( pt, Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sustentável do Rio Negro) is a sustainable development reserve (RDS) in the state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Brazil.
Location
Parts of the Rio Negro Sustainable ...
, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 2008 in an effort to stop deforestation in the area, which is threatened due to its proximity to Manaus.
Tourism
People go to Novo Airão to access to the surrounding area, including both Anavilhanas and Jau National Parks, native communities and to feed and/or swim with the pink dolphins. The latter facility is offered at a small floating café down at the harbour. It is possible to pay some boatmen at the port for trips to Anavilhanas archipelago, (the ruins of the old town, and nearby petroglyphs), and perhaps the
Jaú River (this one may require permission from the federal environment agency ICMBio). The boatmen should belong to the Associacão de Operadores de Turismo em Novo Airão (ATUNA), and be flying the ATUNA flag on their boat, as well some other companies registered on Brazilian Ministry of Tourism, as they are the only ones allowed to access the National Parks and surrounding areas, to perform nice sightseeing tours for alligator focusing, bird watching, perform aquatic trails, piranha fishing, wildlife observation in general and visit some interesting native communities. It is a good idea to check-in on CAT (Tourist Information Center) at the city's entrance, for a complete list of lodges, hostels and hotels, as well tourism operators, as a starting point to plan your trip.
Because of the current bus and boat schedules, it is difficult to make a day trip to Novo Airão, and one should plan to spend at least a night there. There are good places to stay in the town, of variable quality, from top-lodging to bed and breakfast houses. Usually, those from ANATUR (Novo Airão Tourism Association) offer fine service and infrastructure.
Buses leave from Manaus coach terminal early in the morning and boats from the Port of Manaus in the evening.".
[Visit Manaus Guide 2010, T.C. Maguire, Maguire's Guides, ] It is possible to get there in two and a half hours with a taxi-cab from SINDITAXI. Departures are from Rio Negro bridge, and prices are five reais higher than buses, which takes a six hours journey.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Novo Airao
Municipalities in Amazonas (Brazilian state)
Populated places on the Rio Negro (Amazon)