2 Best Sights in The Amazon, Brazil

The top man-made attraction in Macapá also happens to be Brazil's largest fort. Completed in 1782 after 18 grueling years, Fortaleza de São José de Macapá is constructed of stones brought from Portugal as ship ballast. The well-preserved buildings house a visitor center, an art gallery, a meeting room, and a dance-music recital room.

Founded January 12, 1616, this fort is considered Belém's birthplace. From here the Portuguese launched conquests of the Amazon and watched over the bay. The fort's role in the region's defense is evidenced by massive English- and Portuguese-made cannons pointing out over the water. They are poised atop fort walls that are three yards thick in places. Recent renovations unearthed more than two-dozen cannons, extensive military middens from the moat, and native Tupi artifacts. A small museum of prefort indigenous cultures is at the entrance. Just outside the fort, cobblestone walkways hug the breezy waterfront.