Tabatinga

Tabatinga is a city in the north-western part of the state of Amazonas in Brazil. It forms a contiguous settlement with the Colombian town of Leticia. Santa Rosa on the nearby island in the river is in Peru.

Get in

Immigration

Movement between all three countries' border towns is unrestricted; but of course, make sure you're stamped into the correct country if leaving the border area. Try to minimize the amount of times you go through immigration: i.e. if entering the region from one country and leaving from another, just get one exit and one entry stamp - even if you visit all three towns in this area. Anything more seems to annoy the immigration officers.

The Brazilian immigration office is located some way down Tabatinga's main avenue, Avenida da Amizade.

The Colombian immigration office is at the airport, so if you're flying in and moving on to a different country you may as well get an exit stamp when you land. Don't wait several days between getting your exit stamp and the next entry stamp; however leaving it one day doesn't cause any problems.

The Peruvian immigration office in Santa Rosa is fairly central and easy to find, just ask someone.

By boat

If coming from Manaus, it is quite simple to catch the boat to Tabatinga. There are two options, the fast boat and the slow boat. For the fast boat, go to the 'Terminal Ajato' at the wharf in Manaus and book directly with them. You can find this by going to the market near the wharf, then walk east until the road curves around. The booking office is on a modern floating pontoon. There will be hawkers outside, but just go on the pontoon and book direct with the Terminal Ajato office there. Make sure to bring your passport. For information on departure times you can view their website [1]. The cost of the fast boat is 680 reals. The journey takes about 36 hours and includes food. From Tabatinga it is a short taxi ride to Leticia. For the slow boat it is 380 reais and it will take 6 days to go.

Boats and speed boats head downstream to Manaus in 1 to 3 days. Boats head upstream to Iquitos (Peru) from Santa Rosa.

By air

Tabatinga has connections to Manaus. Leticia has flights to Bogota.

Do

• Xingu Camping (Comunidade do Xingu), [email protected] (next to Colombian's border), ☎ +573102151522. A nice piece of land in which a camping project is being built, the owner speaks English, French and Portuguese and can provide you with nice advice about getting around, spending less money and camping next to a small brook for 2USD. 2USD.  edit

Buy

All three currencies are generally freely traded in the town, though Peruvian Soles may not be willingly received. Changing money is not difficult though.

Eat

"Fazendinha", where there´s good pizza!

"Tres Fronteiras" restaurant has a beautiful garden and a romantic atmosphere. They specialize in BBQ and Peruvian food and are known as the best restaurant in Tabatinga.

Drink

"Vinicius" bar, on the main street.

Sleep

• International Bagpacker Hostel, Rua Santo Dumont 02, close to the municipality fair. From its terrace it offers a beautiful view on the river and Santa Rosa Island. Dormitories from 15 Real, double room with ventilator is 40 Real. Some rooms in bad condition with bugs everywhere. The owner, Miguel, speaks Spanish and English well, though, and the hotel is close to the port. The owner may offer you a tour. You can bargain with him for a very good price (maybe two days and one night in the Amazon for R$250). He is very knowledgable about the Amazon and will take you to stay with a very friendly family. The itinerary may include alligator watching, piranha fishing, dolphin watching and some excursions into the rainforest.
• Pousado do Sol, (Near to the Preifetura de Tabatinga (Tabatinga city hall) behind the main street.). The owner, Osmar, is a very talkative and sympathetic man in his 40's. He speaks Spanish in addition to Portuguese, but not English. R$ 70 listed.  edit

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