Rio Araca is a tributary of the Rio Negro,
itself one of the two main tributaries of the Amazon. Founded by Dr. Glaucio Gapski,
the Aracá River Camp is an intimate jungle lodge. It is located in the Demeni river
basin 180
river miles north of the city of Barcelos, in the Amazonas State, in Brazil.
The camp appeals to sport-fishing (catch and release)
enthusiasts and nature lovers and offers quality accommodation, privacy and
close contact with nature. The Camp offers five spacious tents each catering
for 2 persons, each with a covered verandah. The tents
are furnished with two camp
beds, fans and private bathroom. The canteen follows the same
style, installed in a comfortable and fanned 50 square meter (376
square feet) tent. A small generator supplies lights and
battery charging for the boats and radios. No artificial sounds like television can be heard in the camp.
Several hours upriver in the Serra da Aracá
area, Araca River Camp plans to offer the 'first-ever' ecotours to the
highest waterfall discovered in Brazil to date 1,500 meters in height.
Located in a remote mountainous region on the border of Brazil with
Venezuela, this is one of the most remote and beautiful regions of Brazil,
and was virtually unknown until a few months ago. * For more details please visit the Araca River Camp website |
Biodegradable cleansing
agents are used, waste water is filtered naturally by sand
filter and then distributed in the forest. Guests are taken to visit three
nearby villages to see how people live and survive in the river. The boat drivers and guides are also from
these villages and lasting friendships are often build between
guests and
the guides. Araca River Camp's professional staff include a cook, a
laundry person, canoe drivers and guides, a
waiter and support staff. 
The tents and raised walkways have been built with natural
materials with minimum disruption to the natural surroundings. Araca River
Camp try to support the villages further by making occasional tool and supplies donations to them.
Ecotours by resident guides take place
in the igapós (flooded forests) and igarapés (small creeks) of the region,
fascinating because of native landscape and rich flora and fauna. As
tourism in the area is not highly developed, in the igarapés people (piabeiros,
caboclos or riverinios) make their living by catching tropical fish,
especially during the dry period when the igarapés are transformed into
natural aquariums with hundreds of species of tropical fish sought after by
aquariums and pet shops in northern countries. 
The
most well known are the 'neons' and the 'cardinals'. These fish eat
alongside the trunks of submerged trees. The piabeiros usually pass their
entire day on their canoe trying to scrape a living. 
The
fishermen receive just R$ 8.00 (US$ 3.20) per 1,000 fish. The low price,
combined with the operation of commercial fishermen with larger boats is
leading towards the depletion of fish. The state of Amazonas exports on an
average 20 million tropical fish per year, mostly to the United States.