Map Belém

Belém is the second biggest city of Amazonia, in the northern part of Brazil. It is the capital of the state of Pará. It is the entrance gate and, together with Manaus, the most important city in the north of Brazil. Belém, in Pará state, is one of Brazil's busiest ports - and it's about 60 miles upriver from the Atlantic Ocean. The river is the Pará, part of the greater Amazon River system, separated from the larger part of the Amazon delta by Ilha de Marajó (Marajo Island). Belém is built on a number of small islands intersected by channels and other rivers.
Founded in 1616, Belém was the first European colony on the Amazon but didn't become part of the Brazilian nation until 1775. Its metropolitan area has approximately 2.09 million inhabitants. It is also known as Metropolis of the Brazilian Amazon region or Cidade das Mangueiras (city of mango trees) due to the number of those trees found in the city. The newer part of the city has modern buildings and skyscrapers. The colonial portion retains the charm of tree filled squares, churches and traditional blue tiles. Belém is served by the Val de Cães International Airport (BEL) that connects the city to the rest of the country and other cities in South America. Brazilians often refer to the city as Belém do Pará ("Belém of Pará") rather than just Belém so as to differentiate it from Bethlehem in the West Bank.
Belém is a rainy city and hot. Humidity is very high. The climate is equatorial which means little variance from day to day, but the wettest months are between January and May.
The city is home to the Federal University of Pará. The city has a rich history and architecture from colonal times, natural rubber boom, World War II, 1960-70s amazonic rediscovering and recently skyscraper boom.
The Belém International Airport connects Belém with Brazilian cities and also operates international flights.