Ariau Towers

In the middle of Brazil's Amazonian rain forest, on the banks of the Rio Negro near the city of Manaus, lies a hotel for the more adventurous.

Sporting a Tarzan Room 110 feet up a tree, buildings on stilts and plenty of flora and fauna, a tree house has never been so epic. With catwalks and docks to get from place to place and tour the area, a sure foot is a requirement, but worth it with sights of a variety of rare and exotic life. Monkeys, dolphins and hundreds of bird species are just a Cliff's Notes of the possible furry and not-so-furry friends to be made.

Canoes are a common way to explore the forest growing in the river, just before it becomes part of the Amazon. Catwalks work a web through the canopy. There are swimming pools, so nasty nips from pirañas can be avoided, and observational towers stretch up 134 feet above the trees.

The hotel's history says that the idea came from Jacques Cousteau when he met the hotel's founder on a trip to Manau. The structural idea originated with the techniques used by natives of the area for building on the edge of rivers. The first building was opened in 1985.

Adapted with permission from uniqhotels.com.

Update April 2019: Ariau towers closed in 2016.