Alta Floresta, located in Brazil's southern Amazon, is well-known for its bird-watching and sport fishing. To fill the time between these activities or the hours before catching a flight, Alta Floresta has several activities to enjoy: visit an orchid and cactus farm, have a look around in the workshop of a traditional leather handicraft shop or check out the handicrafts of palmeira and cipó wood at the Casa do Artesanato.
Orquídeas da Amazônica – an Orchid and Cactus Farm
Near the Floresta Amazônica Hotel is a large orchid shop with a beautifully designed garden, displaying hundreds of orchids as well as cactuses. Note that native orchids are not for sale [prohibited by law] and that all orchids are the result of cross-fertilizations.
Ask for a guided tour at the adjacent orchid farm. The one or two-hour tour gives a good insight into the wonders of orchid and cactus growing. There are thousands of species and many seem to have their own story regarding their origin, uniqueness in the way they grow, etc.
The best time to visit the Amazon Orchid Farm is at the end of the afternoon. Around sunset capivaras may appear at the adjacent lake and thousands of white herons fly down here to spend the night in the surrounding trees.
Address: Avenida Perímental Oeste / Opening hours: Tues-Sat 8am-6pm, Sun-Holidays 2-6pm / Entrance fee to the farm: 10 reais [6 US dollars].
Leather Handicrafts at Saddle Shop "Bufalo Bill" in Alta Floresta
Due to an accident Bufalo Bill was not able to walk for many months and had to quit his job. He set himself to working with his hands and discovered a passion for leather handicrafts. Since four years he has had his own leather shop where he makes all kinds of leather products, as well as repairs saddles.
Bufalo Bill is happy to show visitors around in his workshop where leather handicrafts are made from different types of buffalo skin. Among the types of leather he uses are "sola", which is thick leather; "vaqueta", a supple, thin leather with suede; and "avestruiz" [ostrich] of which bags, belts and wallets are made. Ostrich leather is ten to twenty times more expensive than buffalo leather.
Bufalo Bill makes two types of saddles: "selas", the American saddle, and "arreios", which is the Brazilian variety. In his shop he sells all necessities for "vaqueros" [cowboys], but travellers may find something to their liking as well, such as shoes or leather handicrafts like knife sheaths, belts or bags.
Address: Avenida Ludovilo da Rivaneto 3598 [across from the Casa da Cultura downtown] / Email [through which he sells his products as well]: selariabufalobill@hotmail.com.
Wooden Handicrafts at Casa do Artesanato in Alta Floresta
Considering the large number of palmeira and cipó trees in the Amazon region it comes as no surprise that in Alta Floresta the majority of wooden handicrafts is made from these trees. These souvenirs truly are a pleasure to behold and have nothing to do with the large, cheap handicraft production that is so common in so many places. Among the wooden handicrafts are:
- Placemats of Palmeira Patauá and Palmeira Açai.
- Wooden boxes of Cipó.
- Necklaces made of a variety of seeds.
Wooden handicrafts can be bought at:
- "Casa do Artesanato" [Handicraft Shop] downtown Alta Floresta. Opening hours: Mon-Fri 7-11am / 1-5pm.
- Alta Floresta's airport, which is only open around the hours of a flight.
- Floresta Amazônica Hotel [in the lobby]. Address: Avenida Perímental Oeste.
Souvenirs, Handicrafts and Orchids in Alta Floresta
Pleasant activities in Alta Floresta are visiting an orchid farm, watching how leather handicrafts are made, as well as shopping at a handicraft shop with wooden handicrafts from the Amazon region. One of Alta Floresta biggest attraction is bird-watching at the Cristalino Jungle Lodge – or check out its affiliated Cristalino Ecological Foundation.
Karin-Marijke Vis - Karin-Marijke Vis is a bilingual writer (Dutch-English) who has been traveling in Asia and South America since 2003.
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