DISCOVER BRAZIL: Attractions & Culture

Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest and most populous country in South America, and fifth largest in the world in both area and population. Spanning a vast area between central South America and the Atlantic Ocean, it is the easternmost country of the Americas and it borders every South American nation except for Ecuador and Chile.

Quick Links RIO DE JANEIRO NATAL Sao Paulo Salvador

DISCOVER BRAZIL: NATAL, RIO DE JANEIRO, Amazon Rainforest, Brasilia, Brazilian Carnival, Buzios, Fortaleza, Iguazu Falls, Itaipu Dam, Recife, Salvador, Samba School, Sao Paulo,

DESTINATION RIO DE JANEIRO Rio de Janeiro is famous for its spectacular natural setting, its Carnival celebrations, samba and other music, hotel-lined tourist beaches, such as Copacabana, Leblon and Ipanema with pavements decorated with black and cream swirl pattern mosaics known locally as 'pedra portuguesa', and the easy-going lifestyle of its inhabitants ...

DESTINATION NATAL With its dozens of sandy, white beaches, such as Ponta Negra and its famous Morro do Careca, Tabatinga - the cliff of dolphins, Pirangi, Redinha, Pipa and Genipabu with its famous fixed sand dunes and imported dromedaries, tourism is the most important industry of Natal, attracting Brazilians, Europeans and U.S. citizens alike ...

AMAZON RAINFOREST The Amazon Rainforest, or Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America. This basin encompasses seven million square kilometers, of which five and a half million square kilometers are covered by the rainforest. The majority of the forest is within Brazil, with 60% of the rainforest ...

DISCOVER BRASILIA Brasilia was built so that the federal capital of Brazil could be transferred from the coast to the Midwestern interior. The Brazilian capital is the only city in the world built in the 20th century to be awarded (in 1987) the status of Historical and Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. The city has been acclaimed for its use of modernist architecture on a grand scale ...

BRAZILIAN CARNIVAL The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival held forty-six days before Easter. On certain days of Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term 'carnival', from carnelevare, 'to remove meat'. Carnival celebrations are believed to have roots in the pagan festival of Saturnalia ...

DISCOVER BUZIOS Once the preserve of pirates and slave traders, the peninsula of Buzios, 105 miles (169 km) northeast of Rio de Janeiro, has become a tourist destination with over 20 beaches in the vicinity. The peninsula was popularized by legendary movie star Brigitte Bardot in the 1960s, and her statue sits along the main street of Buzios, the Rua das Pedras ...

IGUAZU FALLS On the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls there is a long walkway along the canyon with an extension to the lower base of the Devil's Throat. Helicopter rides offering aerial views of the falls are available only on the Brazilian side. From Foz do Iguazu airport the park can be reached by taxi or bus. Free frequent buses are provided to various points within the park ...

ITAIPU DAM The Itaipu Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Parana River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The name Itaipu was taken from an isle that existed near the construction site. In the Guarani language, Itaipu means the sound of a stone. The American composer Philip Glass has also written a symphonic cantata named Itaipu, in honour of the structure ...

DISCOVER RECIFE The area around Recife was one of the first in Brazil to be settled by the Portuguese Crown. In 1537, John III of Portugal divided Brazil into Hereditary Captaincies; the Portuguese realized that they had no human or financial resources to invest in such a large and distant colony, and decided to assign this task to private entrepreneurs, called Donatarios ...

DISCOVER SALVADOR Salvador is located on a small, roughly triangular peninsula that separates Todos os Santos Bay from the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay, which gets its name from having been discovered on All Saints' Day forms a natural harbor. Salvador is a major export port, lying at the heart of the Reconcavo Baiano ...

SAMBA SCHOOL A samba school is a club or dancing school. They practice and often perform in huge square-compounds devoted to practicing and exhibiting samba, an African-Brazilian dance. The schools are traditionally associated with a particular neighborhood, often shanty towns ('favela'). Throughout the year the samba schools have various events ...

DISCOVER SAO PAULO Sao Paulo is known worldwide and has significant influence nationally and internationally,in terms of culture, economy and politics. Has important monuments, parks and museums such as the Latin American Memorial, the Museum of the Portuguese Language, Sao Paulo Museum of Art, the Ibirapuera Park, the Botanical Garden ...

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