​The capital of Pará state and main port of the lower Amazon, Belém do Pará was founded on the equator in 1615 by the Portuguese. The city owes its commercial importance to the opening of the Amazon river to foreign trade in the late nineteenth century. In many ways, Belém’s colonial architecture reflects the seventeenth century architecture of Lisbon that was a source of inspiration for the main housing projects of the time, with ubiquitous Portuguese ceramic tiles, or azulejos. The tour includes visits to the Ver-o-Peso (Check-the-Weight) market, the Basílica de Nossa Senhora de Nazaré, the Museu Emílio Goeldi and the Museu de Arte Sacra – Brazil’s finest collection of religious. Stretching along the waterfront, the Ver-o-Peso market is a curious combination of fishmongers, vegetable stalls and stalls selling items used in witchcraft (macumba). These include peculiar medicinal herbs derived from rainforest plants and roots, and cures for uncommon ailments, such as crocodile teeth, bottled snakes and three-toed sloths, and amulets to ward off the evil eye.

The Basílica de Nossa Senhora de Nazaré was built in 1909 on the site where a humble rancher by the name of Plácido found an image of Our Lady of Nazaré. Built in an architectural style inspired by the Basilica of St Paul in Rome, and lined with fine marble, its elaborate altarpiece frames a tiny statue of the Virgin. The facade has a mural depicting the arrival of the Portuguese in Brazil, while the basement contains a museum of votive offerings. The tour also visits the internationally renowned Emílio Goeldi Museum, founded in 1866, which is today one of the most important centres of research into the natural history of the Amazon rainforest. This botanical, zoological and anthropological park contains more than 2,000 species of plant and tree, plus over 600 species of animal living free or in captivity, within an area of 52,000 square metres. The museum also has a considerable archaeological and ethnological collection that displays various aspects of the region’s indigenous cultures.

The excursion then heads to the Palácio Lauro Sodré (State Museum), the former Governor’s House; the Palácio Antônio Lemos (an art museum housed in a former palace); the Forte do Presépio, known nowadays as the Forte do Castelo, and the Metropolitan Cathedral, or Igreja da Sé. After lunch, the tour continues to Icoaraci village, some eight kilometres outside Belém, which is renowned for the influence of the Marajoara tribe from Marajó Island, who formerly occupied the area. This civilization bequeathed a rich heritage of ceramic making that has been handed down the generations. You’ll have an opportunity to see pottery being made, and can purchase pieces directly from the factory at attractive prices.