Stilted Houses

To reach Boca da Valeria, travelers board small boats that take them ashore. Among the first buildings that visitors will notice are the wooden houses on stilts, constructed to greet the rise and fall of the Amazon River. These structures—some brightly painted—feature open windows; little insulation is required in a place where temperatures rarely drop below 80 degrees. Hammocks hung outside the houses serve as extra open-air bedrooms.