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| Ranking Among Countries: #27 |
| Venturers: 7 |
| Mid-Venturers: 6 |
| Centrics-Venturers: 5 |
| Centrics-Authentics: 5 |
| Mid-Authentics: 4 |
| Authentics: 3 |
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| • Until 1967, the country’s official name was United States of Brazil. |
| • Brazil’s “paper” money is made of plastic. |
| • Brazil occupies 47.3% of the South American continent. |
| • Native Indians are about 0.15% of the population and speak 180 different languages. |
| • Voting is compulsory for citizens between ages 18 and 70. |
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Brazil is the largest country in South America and the largest Portuguese-speaking country in the world, which distinguishes it from its smaller, Spanish-language neighbors. Contrasts often abound in very large countries, and Brazil is no exception. Jungles spread immediately outside of major cities; extreme poverty lives in the shadow of great wealth; fantastic natural beauty co-exists with industrial areas of cities like Sao Paulo. The romantic image of Brazil created by Carnival and movies like “Flying Down to Rio” can be recaptured in the things you can see and experience today, but at the cost of wearing blinkers to ignore areas of blight, poverty and over-commercialization.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s principal tourist city, lays claim to 45 miles of white sand beaches, celebrated in song and story -- remember Ipanema and Copacabana? These two beaches are still beautiful (although crowded) and are overlooked by wealthy residential neighborhoods, something not true of other nearby oceanfronts, where slum areas abut the beaches and the cafes are not so nice. Fans cheer the good hotels, good service and warm and friendly people of Brazil. But, there is the issue of crime, especially robbery, in the cities, particularly in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Visitors have to be alert to the issue. In a country as large as Brazil, capturing its rhythm means experiencing more than the delights of beaches and modern cities — and rhythm is the operative word! African and Caribbean influences combine with Portuguese Catholicism to produce music and celebration that is uniquely Brazilian: mostly joyous and sensual, sometimes reverent, sometimes dark.
The hugeness of the country and the mix of immigrant and native peoples guarantees a variety of colors, cultures, food and practices that are alluring to Europeans and North Americans alike.
Venturers will want to get away from the crowded coast and into the Amazon forest, which occupies more than 40% of Brazil’s land mass. The rhythm changes here to a background of intense stillness broken by exotic noises from animals and moving water. And, centrics and authentics can locate comfortable tours and cruises that allow their sense of adventure to bloom. |
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Go diving in the Abrolhos Archipelago off the coast of Bahia. Considered one of the world’s best places to dive, it lures divers with its huge coral reefs, a wide range of fish species and, between July and November, humpback whales. Above-the-water whale watching is an option, too.
Brazil is soccer-mad. Even if you’re not a fan, a match at Rio’s huge Maracana Stadium is an exciting event that you’ll talk about a lot back home.
Every country has its favorite fire water. Carefully sample cachaca, 80-proof Brazilian white rum distilled from sugar cane. A generous portion will put you in the mood for some of the country’s Afro-Brazilian cult ceremonies!
Visit the Amazon jungle for the chance to snuggle sloths, drink water from the inside of trees, eat fruit you never heard of, fish for piranhas and visit local river dwellers.
If you like up-in-the-air sightseeing, try hang-gliding or paragliding.
Brazil Adventure International in Sao Paulo offers hiking and trekking tours through the Atlantic Rainforest. Other local companies provide similar adventures.
Learn the samba. For Carnival, sign on with one of Rio’s samba schools to join the members as they (and you) don Carnival costumes and dance together. If you are not on hand for Carnival, between September and Carnival you can attend a samba school rehearsal in Rio, or in Salvador, you can do the same thing from October until Carnival time.
Arrange to attend a candomble (a religious ceremony which mingles African and Catholic traditions, producing the Brazilian version of voodoo) in one of several cities in Bahia, such as Salvador, Cachoeira or Sao Felix. Each of those cities also has major festivals that encompass the candomble music and dancing (see www.carnaval.com/bahia/events). Another option for tourists is attending folklore programs in Bahia that include candomble dancing as well as Amerindian and other traditions.
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Carnival in Rio is held the four days preceding Ash Wednesday (February or March), at the height of the tourist season. Fair warning: It wouldn’t be Carnival without crowds, so avoid this time of year if you seek peace.
Sign on for Amazon River sport fishing aboard a houseboat. The main target: peacock bass.
Tour the Manaus Opera House for a sense of colonial-era life on the Amazon. Attend an opera there, if available, or attend any event staged in this outrageously opulent outpost in the jungle.
Travel by riverboat down the Amazon River from Manaus to Belem, or the reverse. Or just explore parts of the river by boat. Or charter a motor yacht for your explorations.
Visit Brazil’s planned city, Brasilia, the modern capital that was built in the jungle. You will find it more satisfying if you are not also looking for a beautiful place.
The jungle and rain forest environments are a bird-watcher’s paradise, but the best place for birds is the Pantanal, a World Biosphere Reserve to the north and west of Rio. It also is described as having a much greater abundance of wildlife than the Amazonian jungle and offering the best photographic safari in the Americas.
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Put the grand Iguacu Falls on your itinerary. That arc-shaped array of falling water is actually 275 falls, forming an 8,100-foot-long semicircle, the widest span of falling water in the world. Spend time in the associated national park looking at wildlife, and for perspective, sightsee over the falls in a helicopter.
Play golf, a game that is taking off in Brazil, on courses across much of the country. The tourist office Web site, www.braziltourism.org, provides a list.
Use museums as one way to get a feel for the country, even though Brazil’s are not world class.
Sao Paulo is the most industrialized city in Brazil, so it bustles in a different way from Rio. It does house one of the world’s 10 best zoos, the Parque Zoologico de Sao Paulo, where the animals and gardens make it a great stop with or without children.
Carnival in Rio is a wild and crowded scene. For a similar but less-demanding option, attend Carnival in one of Brazil’s smaller cities.
Drink Brazilian coffee in Brazil, bearing in mind that the best is exported.
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For more information, consult the Brazilian Tourism Office and Embratur
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