Bespoke Brazil, the specialist Brazil tour operator, has launched a 10-day expedition to the tribes of the Kaxinawá of western Brazil
Clients will experience a remote area of Brazil, unknown to the majority of the Western world, and gain an insight to the Kaxinawá tribe or Huni Kui, meaning True People, who inhabit the Amazon forest close to the Peruvian border in the state of Acre, in western Brazil. Clients will visit seven villages in two indigenous lands: the Kaxinawa of the Tarauacá River and the Kaxinawa of Jordão River.
The Kaxinawá are a tribe of 5,550 people who pride themselves on their strong cultural identity, while maintaining contact with the ‘white people’ who they first encountered in the late 19th century. However, much of their culture is secretive, such as their knowledge of language, painting, art and traditional medicine. Children learn to speak Portuguese when they are about 11, and the official language spoken between the Kaxinawá is hãtxa kui.
The itinerary offers an exciting insight into one of the more remote tribes of Amazonia. Clients can expect to stay in the local homes of the Kaxinawá in hammocks, where all meals are provided.
The Kaxinawá have a strong influence from the Inca kingdom due to its proximity to Peru, especially on clothes and body paintings with geometric shapes known as Kenes. The Indians of Acre had a peaceful relationship with the Incas and would trade with the Indians of the Andes, where medicinal plants were exchanged for salt and other products from the highlands.
Due to the remote area in which the Kaxinawá live, a light aircraft flight is required to reach the small town of Jordão, from where guests can board boats to reach the tribal villages. The expedition can be done at any time during the year, although the best time is between May and November when water levels are higher in the rivers.
Cost of the trip, based on two people travelling, is £2,460 per person. The price does not include international flights, but does include internal flights from Rio Branco to Jordão, return private air taxi flights between Jordão and Rio Branco, private airport transfers, 2 nights at Hotel Inácio in Rio Branco with breakfast, 1 night at Hotel Ferreira in Jordão, 6 nights in the local houses of the Indian communities in hammocks, contributions for each village that guests stay at, all meals during the trip to the tribal villages, full board equivalence (prepared by the indigenous tribes), extra provisions for breakfast and snacks, an English speaking guide/tour leader, an indigenous local guide, and activities, hikes and visits during the trip.
Images of Huni Kui courtesy Jon David
For further information visit www.bespokebrazil.com/kaxinawa.html
