Fishing in Serra da Cutia National Park

Serra da Cutia sits in the southwestern corner of Rondônia, bordering Bolivia, administered by ICMBio out of Guajará-Mirim.

The park covers roughly 283,500 hectares of dense Amazonian lowland — rolling terrain where gently elevated ground gives rise to small rivers and igarapés that drain toward larger systems including the Rio Cautário and the Rio Guaporé.

Water is everywhere here, threading through the forest in a maze of channels, flooded margins, and blackwater streams. The park holds 143 documented fish species, including at least one catfish found nowhere else on earth.

That figure alone signals what kind of fishery this is: Amazonian, diverse, and still being understood by science.

The named waters inside the park — Rio Sotério, Rio Novo, Igarapé Azul, Igarapé das Antas, Igarapé Grande, and Igarapé dos Macacos — reflect the character of the place: a mix of rivers and smaller igarapés cutting through primary forest, the kind of water where access is the first challenge and the fishing rewards patience over technique.

Getting here is not straightforward. The nearest town is Guajará-Mirim, and the park's remoteness is genuine — this is not a place with a trailhead parking lot. The rainy season makes movement through the terrain significantly harder. Plan around that reality.

Because this is a federally protected area managed by ICMBio, regulations apply on top of any standard Brazilian fishing license.

Check directly with ICMBio before you go — rules around gear, overnight river access, and what waters are open to fishing can change, and the park is the only reliable source for current requirements. The fish are here.

So is the forest, intact and loud with it. Come prepared for the logistics, and treat the water accordingly.