WONDER OF THE WORLD

IN 2011, FOLLOWING a competition that attracted 100 million votes from around the world, the Amazon Rainforest was declared one of the New Seven Wonders of the natural world, to the surprise of everyone who assumed it must surely belong to the original club.

Its immensity is difficult to grasp; it stretches across nine countries, and in Brazil alone, despite having been slashed by 20% since 1970, the forest measures 3,290,125km². The area of the UK is 242,495km².

Spare a thought, then, for the folks at Bespoke Rallies, who had to choose a ‘mere’ 6834km route for next October’s Great Amazon Adventure. They settled on a loop that will take 15 lucky crews (accommodation is scarce in some areas) from Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname, through Guyana, Brazil and French Guiana, and back to Paramaribo.

In one respect, at least, British entrants will feel right at home in Suriname and Guyana, which are two of only three regions in South America where cars drive on the left (the other is the Falkland Islands).

It is in Guyana that the rally will first venture deep into the rainforest, before heading for Boa Vista, Brazil’s only major city located entirely north of the equator. Zero degrees latitude will be crossed on the journey to Manaus, nicknamed ‘the Paris of the Tropics’ on account of its European-influenced architecture. Just east of the city, crews will witness the Meeting of the Waters, where the dark Rio Negro converges with the light brown waters of the Solimões, the colours remaining distinct thanks to differences in temperature and flow.

The rest of the route broadly follows the Amazon River and some tributaries all the way to Macapá near the Atlantic, before turning north-west into French Guiana for a special treat on the way home: a visit to Kourou and the launch site of the European Space Agency.