Belém is a city in the northern part of Brazil. It is the capital and also the biggest city of the state of Pará. Its metropolitan area has approximately 2.08 million inhabitants. It is the entrance gate and, together with Manaus, the most important city in the Brazilian amazonic region. It is also known as Cidade das mangueiras (city of the mango trees) due to the amount of those trees found in the city. Belém is served by the Val de Cães International Airport (BEL) that connects the town to 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 Belém (Bethlehem) in the West Bank.
Belém, like Manaus, is a jumping-off point for those seeking Amazon adventures, and also one of Brazil's busiest ports -- about 60 miles upriver from the Atlantic Ocean. The river is the Para, part of the greater Amazon river system, and the city is built on a number of small islands intersected by channels and other rivers.
One part of Belém contains modern skyscrapers and the other part, the colonial section, has charming tree-filled squares, churches, and traditional blue tiles.
Belém is a hot and rainy city with very high humidity. The equatorial climate means little variance from day to day, but the wettest months are between January and May.
