Rio Branco

Rio Branco is the capital and the biggest city of the state of Acre in Brazil.

In spite of its remote location, Rio Branco is a pleasant town with a good urban organization. Most modern public buildings are of interesting architecture, usually inspired by forest or native culture elements.

Climate
Rio Branco has a tropical climate, so expect a lot of heat and high humidity throughout the year. Average temperatures are typically 22 °C (72 °F) and 33 °C (92 °F) during the hottest days of the year. The rainy season runs from October to April, and the rest of the year is the dry season. In the winter months, during the dry season, the phenomenon of friagem occurs, when cold fronts of polar origin can lower the temperature to up to 12 °C (53.6 °F). However, the cold does not last more than a week and it can return to heat and high humidity. Towards the end of the dry season, between August and September, humidity drops and temperatures become scorching, sometimes reaching 37 °C (99 °F), and some wildfires can occur. It is recommended to drink lots of water if you visit Rio Branco during these months.

By plane


A city bus line connects the airport to the city center. Service runs hourly from 6AM to 11PM. The bus passes in front of the airport building, but there's no stop there. To reach the bus stop, on leaving the building turn left and follow the road. However, given said bus stop is a bit remote, at night the bus drivers are kind enough to pick you up from the airport door.

The taxis operate on a rip-off fixed price of R$ 100 to anywhere in town. The drivers themselves might help to pool people so they share the ride cost. An Uber ride to town will cost around R$ 35, but there are few drivers in Rio Branco and the service is often unavailable.

The airport building is open 24 hr and it's not uncommon for people to overnight there waiting for the city bus service to resume.

By bus
The sits outside the city. It's a modern building, with the ticket offices right at the entrance, and some food options both in form of cafes as well as informal vendors. The building is entirely open air, and it can be cold there early in the morning.

To Porto Velho, capital of nearby state of Rondônia, company Verde offers services departing at 7AM, 10AM, 8PM and 11PM (103 reais, 9 hr).

To the border with Peru, there are daily services to Assis Brasil at 6AM and midday (62.50 reais, 8 hr). Companies PetroAcre and TransAcreana share the right to exploit the service, each week one is running the buses - inquire at their windows and they will direct you.

To the border with Bolivia, there are a few daily services to Brasileia (48.50 reais, 4½ hr).

To Xapuri, of touristic interest due to its connections to the activist Chico Mendes, PetroAcre runs daily 7am and 2:45pm services (35,50 reais, 3,5h).

On the night from Friday to Saturday, the bus plying the São Paulo/Lima route calls at Rio Branco and it's possible to take a straight service to Cuzco (282 reais, 24 hr) or Lima. That's the longest commercial bus service in the world, and it is estimated to reach Rio Branco Saturday 3am. Call Ormeño Bus Company's representative for details:.

The other straight services to Peru have been discontinued.

By car
Lotações (shared taxis) are common in Acre state, and the most popular way of medium-distance travel among locals. As a rule of thumb, the price per person is twice the price of the bus service, and they leave when full (that is, 4 passengers). Service is reasonably structured, and they congregate on their designated.

As of June 2018, the prices were R$ 60 to Xapuri, R$ 70 to Brasileia and R$ 110 to Assis Brasil (with a change of car in Brasileia).

Get around
Rio Branco has a network of city buses run by the local government. The fare is R$ 4 (Aug 2018) and it's possible to transfer free of charge at the

Do



 * Take a stroll alongside Rio Acre, leaving from the all the way to the.
 * Look for high quality, affordable cultural attractions at Fundação Garibaldi Brasil or
 * Do as the locals and go spend your late afternoons at the, a large green area with a lake and sports facilities. There are free local dances presentation on Tuesdays and Thursdays evenings.
 * Take a break from midday sun by rerouting your exploration through the Parque da Maternidade (Motherhood Park), a long stretch of greenery that also houses the (House of People of the Jungle) and the Casa do Artesão (Craftsman's House).

Buy
Cheap Chinese stuff can be found at the (Pedestrian street) near the Terminal Urbano. For groceries, the best-supplied supermarket chain is called Araújo and has many units in town.



Eat
Acre state is one of the biggest producers of açaí in Brazil. This purple juice extracted from the fruit of a palm tree gained international fame as a superfood, consumed in form of a frozen cream to which fruits or nuts are added. However, the local way to consume it is to mix the fresh unsweetened juice to a bit of manioc flour (for crunchiness) and then add sugar, condensed milk and/or powdered milk.

Another local delicacy is tacacá, a broth made with manioc water and jambu - a leaf that causes an effect between hotness and light numbness of the mouth. When asked how much goma you want, start with "little" because this goey paste is an acquired taste, but don't skip it as it dissolves into the broth, giving it a nice thickness. It is served in a bowl, and you are supposed to drink directly from it, Japanese-style.

On street markets, look for sweets made of tucumã, a local nut, or sweets or juice made of cupuaçu, a fuit that gives a nicely sour cream.

Not particularly unusual, but has a concentration of holes-in-the-wall selling freshly squeezed orange juice (R$ 3/4/5 for 300/400/500 ml) that makes a great break on hot days.



Go next

 * Xapuri - home to environmental activist Chico Mendes.
 * Cobija - Bolivian border town where Brazilians usually go for shopping.
 * Porto Velho - where you can take a reliable boat service to Manaus.
 * Puerto Maldonado - gateway to Peru.