The capital of the extreme northern state of Roraima, 759 km north of Manaus, is a very pleasant, clean, laid-back little town on the Rio Branco. Tourism is beginning here and there are a number of interesting new destinations offering a chance to explore far wilder country than that around Manaus, with correspondingly richer wildlife. The landscape is more diverse, too, with tropical forest, savannah and highlands dotted with waterfalls. However, the area immediately around the city has been heavily deforested.
Boa Vista lies within easy access of both Venezuela and Guyana and crossing the border to either is straightforward. When the river is low, it is possible to swim in the Rio Branco, 15 minutes by bus from the town centre (too polluted in Boa Vista). As a result of heavy international pressure, the Brazilian government expelled some 40,000 gold prospectors from the Yanomami Reserve in the west of the state in the early 1990s. The economic consequences were very severe for Boa Vista, which went from boom to bust. An increase in cattle ranching in the area has not taken up the slack.
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