The other terminus of the Royal Road, seaside Paraty was where the precious metals extracted from Minas Gerais were shipped out in the early days of Brazil’s gold rush. The town lost some of this export trade to Rio de Janeiro in the early 1700s, yet its colonial charm was impeccably preserved – and it’s all the more spectacular for being sandwiched between steep, jungle-covered mountains and the warm, clear waters of the ocean.
A backwater for centuries, Paraty has in recent decades attracted to writers and artists from all over the world. The city plays host to a number of prestigious events, including the literary festival FLIP, a jazz festival and a pinga festival (an excuse to drink lots of pinga, slang for cachaça, the Brazilian cane spirit that’s produced locally).
Getting out on the water to explore some of Paraty’s 65 islands and 300 beaches is a must. Motor boats and schooners can be rented, but for a close-up connection with nature join a kayak tour in the Saco de Mamanguá – a “tropical fjord” – and paddle to deserted beaches, mangroves, waterfalls and Caiçara fishing communities.
Amazon rainforest
The Amazon has a mysterious pull that has fascinated explorers for centuries. One of the wildest places on the planet, the region is almost too big to comprehend, spanning as it does about 42% of Brazil and swaths of eight neighboring countries. Each region offers something different in terms of ecology, tourism and local culture; doing your research before visiting is essential as it’s neither a cheap nor an easy-to-reach destination.
The unending expanse of green can be gazed at for hours as you fly overhead into Manaus, the region’s largest city and a good jumping-off point for many of the lodges and Amazon jungle experiences. You can try canoeing through flooded forests at Anavilhanas National Park, heading farther afield to the recently formed Xixuaú Reserve or spotting river dolphins in the Mamirauá Reserve. A few hundred miles east, Santarém is another access point for seeing the majestic trees deep in the Tapajós Forest or beach hopping along the banks of the Arapiuns River, a tributary of the Tapajós River near Alter do Chão.
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Jalapão
In a country teeming with with rainforests, pristine beaches and other natural wonders, the tropical savanna hinterlands of the Cerrado certainly hold their own.
While the Cerrado has borne the brunt of Brazil’s agribusiness boom in recent decades, pockets of conservation do exist, including the relatively unexplored Jalapão State Park – 34,000 sq km (13,127 sq miles) of scrubland, grasslands, forest, caves and unusual rock formations. The best time to visit is the dry season (from May to September) when, despite the dry landscape, water is the main attraction. Splash in the glassy pools of waterfalls or kayak down rapids; you can also take a dip in the so-called fervedouros (boiling pots), natural springs where the bubbling water buoys swimmers. Sand dunes and chapadas (mountain formations) also make for some spectacular hiking.
Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park (400km south) and Emas National Park (to the west) are two much larger conservation areas that are home to dozens of species of flora and fauna at risk of extinction. Lucky hikers might cross paths with giant anteaters, giant armadillos, maned wolf and rheas, South America’s largest bird.
Pantanal
The largest wetland region in the world, the Pantanal offers the best wildlife spotting in Brazil. South America’s largest mammal (tapir) and largest bird (rhea) call the Pantanal home, as do more than 230 species of fish and 650 species of bird – plus such apex predators as jaguars, caimans and anacondas.
Spanning an area more than half the size of France, the Pantanal can be explored in a number of different ways. The most accessible is by road, on the Estrada Transpantaneira, though small airplanes and motorboats open the doors to more remote zones and secluded, upscale lodges. It’s easier to spot wildlife during the dry season, from May to September – but when the water levels rise from October onwards, the rivers flood their banks and inundate the surrounding plains, spurring on an abundance of flora and flocks of wading birds. The wet season also brings the arrival of river cruises: the sun deck of a 15-cabin boat cruise to the Serra do Amolar mountains near the border with Bolivia is an ideal vantage point from which to contemplate the grandeur of this region.
Rio de Janeiro
The most visited city in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro didn’t earn its title of cidade maravilhosa (“marvelous city”) for nothing. In the eyes of Cariocas, it’s the most beautiful place on earth. Visitors would be hard-pressed to disagree.
Dense high-rises are stacked like sugar cubes between mountains cloaked in rainforest and studded with naked granite peaks jutting skywards. Visitors hit the famous beaches to lounge in the sun, but the locals go to get active – surfing, running, cycling or diving into the sand over a sweaty game of beach volleyball. People watching is a serious beach sport in its own right.
Come evening, Rio’s own special blend of tropical rhythms draw the crowds out onto the city’s streets to meet friends at botecos (bars) or join impromptu street parties. You’ll also discover a wealth of culture and history, as the city was in the 19th century the capital of the Kingdom of Portugal, and, until 1960, the capital of Brazil.
earest destination for those looking for beautiful beaches, Bahia continues to attract tourists and should return with strength after the coronavirus pandemic.
Tourists who decide to venture into Bahia do not suffer from a lack of things to do. There are 13 tourist areas that cater to the most diverse motivations, with natural and historical beauties.
One of the most famous areas is Costa dos Coqueiros, which comprises the municipalities of Mata de São João, Jandaíra, Entre Rios, Conde, Lauro de Freitas, Esplanada, Dias D’Ávila and Camaçari.
The place holds incredible natural beauties, which include the green of coconut trees, the blue of the sea, the ruins of an old colonial castle and a modern hotel infrastructure.
It is in this area that famous beaches of Bahia are located, such as Praia do Forte, Imbassaí, Costa do Sauípe, Baixio, Massarandupió, Mangue Seco, Arembepe, Castelo Garcia D’Ávila, Sapiranga Reserve, in addition to the Tamar project – which works to preserve the sea turtles – and the Humpback Whale project.
In addition to these better-known places, Bahia also holds other beauties of the Brazilian Northeast. Check out:
Salvador is without Carnival due to the coronavirus, but it deserves to be mentioned in all tourist articles for its other attractions.
Capital of Bahia, before the pandemic, it was able to receive more than three million tourists a year, 550 thousand of which in Carnival alone. When visiting, don’t miss the Mercado Modelo, with more than 250 stores with a variety of art, crafts, souvenirs and restaurants.
Other highlights are the Pelourinho, the Church and Convent of São Francisco and the Cathedral Basilica of Salvador.
Located in the municipality of Cairu, Ilha de Boipeba is the definition of rest. Not even a car arrives at the place. Neighboring Tinharé Island, near Morro de São Paulo, Boipeba has grown among Brazilian tourists.
The highlight goes to the natural pools of Bainema, where there is a mangrove swamp that runs to the Catu River. In Ponta dos Castelhanos, there is the traditional lobster pastry and the cocoa caipirinha with biribiri.
One of the places that offers an immersion in the place is the Pousada Mangabeiras, which has a preserved forest all around.
Have you ever thought about seeing a whale up close? The tourist area of Costa das Baleias provides this experience, depending on the time of year. The cliff-lined beaches and untouched ecosystems are a true paradise for humpback whales.
The coast is in the extreme south of Bahia and is home to the largest and most diversified set of coral reefs in the South Atlantic. In all, there are 17 species in the Abrolhos Marine National Park. The coast corresponds to the municipalities of Alcobaça, Caravelas, Itamaraju, Mucuri, Nova Viçosa, Prado and Teixeira de Freitas.
A small sample of what the Portuguese had the opportunity to see when they arrived in Brazil is on the Discovery Coast.
Surrounded by several natural attractions, such as beaches, bays, coral reefs, mangroves and navigable rivers, the region attracts fans of adventure tourism.
The site comprises the municipalities of Porto Seguro, Santa Cruz Cabrália, Belmonte and Guaratinga and the beaches of Arraial D’Ajuda and the famous Trancoso, in addition to Caraíva, Santo André, Monte Pascoal and Ponta do Mutá.
The long-awaited Ferris wheel is now open! Promotional ticket prices will last until December 19th. The Rio Star Ferris wheel is the largest in Latin America, 88 meters high, and the full ride will last 15 minutes. Visitors are accommodated in 54 gondolas [cabins] capable of holding up to eight passengers each, and rides be held from 10 AM to 6 PM, with the possibility of extended hours during the high season.
“I strongly believe that Rio de Janeiro residents will welcome the Ferris wheel, who will want to come and experience the views at a height of 88 meters,” said Fabio Bordini, executive director of FW Investimentos, the holding company that manages Rio Star.
From dreamy-hued Instagrams and Tropicália to artistic hubs in beautiful but neglected buildings,get inside the city’s diverse urban sceneCities is.
São Paulo in five words
“Efferverscent chaos of mashed cultures.”
The sound of the city
São Paulo is known as the land of drizzle. Whether harmless showers or heavy storms, it rains quite a bit here. Sometimes it is a problem and some neighbourhoods flood; sometimes it is a blessing because our water system is archaic and we rely on the rain to fill our reservoirs.
What everyone is tuning in to
Although she’s from Rio, Jout Jout is getting people from São Paulo (and all over Brazil) hooked on her super simple yet humorous and smart videoblog. In it she talks about frivolities alongside more serious issues, such as abusive relationships and professional dissatisfaction.
The best venue
In the Centro neighbourhood, there are many beautiful but neglected buildings that have become creative and artistic hubs in the past few years. Farol is one of the most complete and collaborative of these hubs. On different floors of the same building you can find Eduqativo, an institute created to develop new ways of collective education; Líquen, a space for designers finding balance through digital and manual work; Fluxo, a journalism staffroom, dedicated to raw news covered across different platforms; and Balsa, a place for hanging out that has a lovely view from the terrace.
Top of the playlist
Terno Rei is a rising band in São Paulo’s music scene. Their sound is part gloomy, part mellow and they often write about urban loneliness – a subject most Paulistanos can relate to. Later this month they will perform at Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona.
Favourite local artist
Marina Rheingantz is a young painter who pictures dark and odd landscapes in an almost abstract way. She finds inspiration in memories and images that already exist, from photographic work to the films of Wim Wenders.
The big talking point
In São Paulo, water is an increasingly important issue. In 2014, the city suffered its most severe drought since 1930. Even though it rains a lot – and last February was the wettest month in 20 years – the reservoirs still haven’t filled to more than 5% of capacity.
The look on the street
The look on the street is as diverse as the city itself, but on the whole it’s cosmopolitan and smart, with some lightness and freshness to it – it is a tropical country we live in, after all. And because there can be sun, rain and cold wind in the same day, Paulistanos know how to work their layers.
The best Instagram account
Lane Marinho is a visual artist and crafter with an eye for São Paulo’s best features, capturing beautiful shapes and colours under a dreamy light.
What São Paulo does better than anywhere else …
Immigrant festivals. Whether Italian or Japanese, there are many big traditional festivities held in the city. There is even one festival organised by the Immigration Museum, where immigrant citizens from 20 different countries exhibit their traditional cuisine and culture in order to celebrate São Paulo’s diversity.
The big cultural moment
Most people say the city’s greatest cultural moment was the Brazilian Music festival, which was televised in the late 1960s and has recently inspired a documentary called A Night in ’67. The festival showcased artists from one of the most important and subversive movements in Brazilian cultural history, the Tropicália, including Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Os Mutantes – artists who were later censored or exiled.
The best street art
Street art is pretty strong in São Paulo. Whether graffiti or just straight-forward pixação – as we call our spiky hieroglyphic tags – you can find it anywhere. Local artist Daniel Melim’s Mural da Luz, as eye-catching and interesting as it is, may not be the most significant in content – a sort of pop-art deconstruction of an advertisement. But, because of its location and integration with the city’s landscape, it has become one of the most memorable and engaging pieces of street art around.
Named the first capital of Brazil, Salvador has a vibrant mix of cultures, where smiles and alegria (Portuguese for “joy”) are everyday currency.
As the locals say, “Sorria, você está na Bahia!” (Smile, you’re in Bahia). Bahia is the most African state of Brazil, home of soul and rhythm, and famous for it’s nightlife.
Whether you’re planning to spend a few days in this exciting city or you’ve just landed and don’t know where to start, here are the top places to go and things to do in Salvador.
Even though the Pelourinho is considered a tourist attraction, you can’t miss it. In the heart of the old city, the Pelourinho is basically a postcard of Salvador. Among the wonderfully restored pastel-colored buildings you can go shopping, see cultural information centers, find heaps of restaurants, bars and see live music.
Founded in 1594 by Portuguese settlers, the historic center of Brazil’s first city got its name from the main square where slaves and criminals were once punished. In 1985, UNESCO named the Pelourinho a World Heritage site.
It’s been a source of inspiration for Brazilian musicians, like Caetano Veloso, as well as international stars, like Paul Simon and Michael Jackson, who recorded scenes of a video clip here.
Colorful buildings in the Historic Center of Salvador, Brazil. Photo credit: Getty Images/Paul Biris
Olodum Rehearsal
While you’re in Salvador, check out an Olodum rehearsal. The Olodum band is a traditional Afro-Brazilian group who have been around since the 70s, and are best known for their annual Carnaval Bloco. The group hosts shows and rehearsals year round, which will easily become a trip highlight for any Afro-Brazilian music lover.
Sunset Over Baía de Todos Santos
As the day comes to a close, find yourself the perfect spot to watch the sunset over Baía de Todos Santos. Elevador Lacerda is a beautiful old art deco elevator, and is easily the most famous spot to watch the sunset. The views are incredible, but it has become a trap for tourists, where local criminals do some of their best work while you’re distracted. Some visitors have reported feeling uneasy, and say they spent the whole time watching their belongings.
Instead, find a nearby restaurant and grab a drink while you enjoy sunset without the worry – or crowds
Enjoy Sunset Jazz at Solar do Unhão on Saturdays in front of the Modern Art Museum (MAM). Local artists play jazz sets with Baian beats from 6pm until the sun goes down. It’s a great mix of live music, with incredible views of the bay, set at the foot of one of the most architecturally famous buildings in the city.
Sunset from Elevador Lacerda. Photo credit: Getty Images/diegograndi
Take a Day Trip to Arembepe Beach
To experience the best of Bahia, you’ve got to get out of town.
Head to the small coastal town of Arembepe, about 27mi (45km) north of Salvador. There’s a small hippie village located close to the city center, where the peace and love generation still sell crafts and locally-grown produce. Locals here choose to live off nature, in mud and straw houses, and without electricity. This community housed Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in the 60s, American rocker Janis Joplin in 1970, and the Novos Baianos for extended stays on several occasions.
The beach is also home to sea turtle conservation projects. From December to February you can see baby turtles make their way into the ocean.
Skip the over-popular coastal village of Praia do Forte in favor of a sleepy fishermans town called Itacimirim, which is just over an hour north of Salvador. Spread along 4mi (8km) of quiet beaches, there are natural pools for snorkeling, ideal diving conditions, fresh water rivers collide with the sea, and a few warm-water surf beaches.
Take a Ferry to Boipeba
Take a step back in time on a day trip to Boipeba. Wake up early in Salvador to catch a two-hour ferry to Boipeba Island.
This small island with four villages is a protected environmental area, where no cars or motorbikes are permitted. All transport is on foot or by farm tractor. On the island you can see native Atlantic Rainforest, salt marshes, sand dunes, extensive mangroves, live reefs, palm-tree lined beaches and a rich ecosystem of plants, sea life and wild animals.
At Moreré there are a few guest houses, bars and restaurants, but no pier for boats to dock. All transport to and from this charming village is by canoe from the main beach.
The largest country in South America, Brazil occupies almost half the continent. Nearly all of it is in the Southern Hemisphere and much of it is tropical, with vast stretches of rainforest filled with exotic plants and wildlife. Its 7,400-kilometer Atlantic coast is lined with golden sand beaches, and its interior is filled with mineral resources. Gold from Brazil’s mines still lines the churches of Portugal, the colonial power that ruled Brazil until 1822. This strong Portuguese influence is evident in Brazil’s colonial architecture, in decorative arts such as the glazed tiles in its churches and convents, and in the language. For tourists, Brazil is both a tropical paradise and an exciting cultural destination with attractions for all tastes, from idyllic beach holidays and jungle explorations to world-class art museums and the pulsing rhythms of Rio’s Carnival.
1 Sugar Loaf, Rio de Janeiro
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The easily recognized emblem of Rio de Janeiro, the rounded rock peak of Sugar Loaf juts out of a tree-covered promontory, rising 394 meters above the beaches and city. Its summit is one of the first places tourists go, for views of Rio and the harbor, and for the thrill of riding suspended in a cable car between Sugar Loaf and the Morro da Urca, a lower peak from which a second cableway connects to the city. Rio’s first settlement began below these peaks, near the long Praia da Urca beach, and you can tour one of the three early forts there, the star-shaped Fort São João.
2 Cristo Redentor, Rio de Janeiro
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With arms outstretched 28 meters, as if to encompass all of humanity, the colossal Art Deco statue of Christ, called Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer), gazes out over Rio de Janeiro and the bay from the summit of Corcovado. The 709-meter height on which it stands is part of the Tijuca National Park, and a rack railway climbs 3.5 kilometers to its top, where a broad plaza surrounds the statue. Completed in 1931, the 30-meter statue was the work of Polish-French sculptor Paul Landowski and Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, and is constructed of reinforced concrete and soapstone. The eight-meter base encloses a chapel that is popular for weddings. Although this is one of Brazil’s most readily recognized icons, it is often mistakenly called The Christ of the Andes, confused with the older statue marking the boundary between Argentina and Chile.
A mid-point stop on the railway leads to trails through the Tijuca National Park, a huge forest that protects springs, waterfalls, and a wide variety of tropical birds, butterflies, and plants. Several more viewpoints open out within the park.
3 Carnaval, Rio de Janeiro
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Few shows match Rio’s pre-Lenten Carnaval (Carnival) extravaganza for color, sound, action, and exuberance. Make no mistake, this is not just another rowdy street party, but a carefully staged showpiece, where spectators can watch the parades of competing samba dancers from a purpose-built stadium designed by none other than Brazil’s best-known architect, Oscar Niemeyer. Called the Sambódromo, this long series of grandstand boxes provides ringside seats to a 700-meter parade route where dancers and musicians from the competing samba schools strut their stuff in a dazzling explosion of brilliant costumes. If mob scenes are less appealing to you than more spontaneous celebrations (that are equally riotous and colorful), you’ll also find Carnivals in Salvador, Bahia, Recife, and other Brazilian cities.
4 Iguaçu Falls
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At the point where Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina meet, the Iguaçu river drops spectacularly in a semicircle of 247 waterfalls that thunder down into the gorge below. Just above the falls, the river is constricted to one-fourth of its usual width, making the force of the water even stronger. Some of the falls are more than 100 meters high and they cover such a broad area that you’ll never see all of them at once, but you do get the broadest panorama from the Brazilian side. Catwalks and a tower give you different perspectives, and one bridge reaches all the way to one of the largest, known as the Garganta do Diabo (Devil’s Throat). You can cross to the Argentinian side for closer views from catwalks that extend farther into the center of the falls. The two sides offer different perspectives and views, so most tourists plan to see both. The falls are protected by the UNESCO-acclaimed Iguaçu National Park, where subtropical rain forests are the home to more than 1,000 species of birds and mammals, including deer, otters, ocelots, and capybaras.
5 Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro
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Downtown Rio’s most fashionable and famous section follows Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana and is bordered all along one side by four kilometers of white sand and breaking surf. The beach is separated from the buildings and traffic by a broad promenade paved in black and white mosaic in an undulating pattern reminiscent of streets in Lisbon, Portugal. The beach isn’t just for show. It’s also a popular playground filled with sun-worshipers, swimmers, and kids building sand castles whenever the weather is fine. Stroll the streets here to find restaurants, smart shops, cafés, and beautiful old buildings from the days when Rio was Brazil’s capital. One of these, the famed Copacabana Palace, is protected as a national monument. Inside its lobby, you can easily imagine seeing the royalty and film idols who have stayed here.
6 Amazon Rain Forests
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About 20 kilometers southeast of Manaus, the dark Rio Negro waters meet the light muddy water of the Rio Solimões, flowing side by side for about six kilometers before mixing as the Amazon. Boat trips from Manaus take you to this point, called Encontro das Aguas, meeting of the waters. Other boat trips take you into the heart of the rain forests and the network of rivers, channels, and lakes formed by the three rivers. In the Rio Negro, the Anavilhanas Islands form an archipelago with lakes, streams, and flooded forests that offer a full cross-section of the Amazonian ecosystem. You can see monkeys, sloths, parrots, toucans, caimans, turtles, and other wildlife on a boat trip here. Also close to Manaus, the 688-hectare Janauari Ecological Park has a number of different ecosystems that you can explore by boat along its narrow waterways. An entire lake here is covered with giant water-lilies found only in the Amazon region. While in Manaus, be sure to see its famous Teatro Amazonas, the Italian Renaissance-style opera house, designed to put Manaus on the map as South America’s great center of culture.
7 Brasília’s Modernist Architecture
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Brazil’s new city of Brasília was carved out of the wilderness and completed in less than three years to replace Rio de Janeiro as the country’s capital in 1960. The ambitious plan by Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer became a showpiece of city planning and avant-garde architecture, and it remains today as one of the world’s few cities that represent a completed plan and a single architectural concept. Without the normal mix of residential and business districts, the entire governmental section is composed of major architectural highlights, which are the city’s main tourist attractions. Some of the most striking surround Praça dos Tràs Poderes: the presidential palace, supreme court, and the two sharply contrasting congress buildings, plus the Historical Museum of Brasília and the Panteão da Liberdade (Pantheon of Freedom), designed by Oscar Niemeyer. That architect’s best-known building in the city is the circular Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida, whose curved concrete columns rise to support a glass roof. Another of Niemeyer’s landmark works is the Palácio dos Arcos, surrounded by beautiful gardens designed by Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, who worked with Niemeyer on several projects throughout Brazil. The round Memorial dos Povos Indígenas (Museum of Indigenous People) is patterned after a traditional Yąnomamö round house. But many consider Niemeyer’s finest work to be the Monumento JK, a memorial to President Juscelino Kubitschek, the founder of Brasilia. Brasilia has been named a UNESCO World Heritage city.
8 Salvador’s Pelourinho
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The Cidade Alta (Upper Town) of Brazil’s former colonial capital has been named a UNESCO World Heritage site for its exceptional collection of 17th- and 18th-century colonial buildings, the finest such ensemble in South America. Called the Pelourinho, this old quarter is where you’ll find Salvador’s most beautiful churches and monasteries, built at a time when Brazil was the source of Portugal’s riches, and the plentiful gold was lavished on the colony’s religious buildings. The finest and most opulent of the city’s churches is São Francisco, built in the early 1700s and filled with intricate carvings covered in gold. In the choir and cloister, you can see excellent examples of Portuguese tile panels, called azulejos. This was the friary church, and next to it is the church of the Franciscan Third Order. It’s impossible to miss the riotously carved façade covered in statues and intricate decoration. The interior is just as ornate, surpassing even the Portuguese Baroque in its opulent detail.
9 Ouro Preto
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The wealth of Brazil’s state of Minas Gerais in its glory days of the colonial period is easy to imagine from the interiors of the churches in its old capital, Ouro Preto. Entire walls are washed in gold that flowed – along with diamonds – from the mines surrounding the city in the 17th and 18th centuries. Cascading down the sides of a steep valley and surrounded by mountains, Ouro Preto is a jewel of a colonial town, but its steep narrow streets and mountain setting – however captivating for tourists today – didn’t meet the needs of a growing provincial capital. The government moved to the newly built capital of Belo Horizonte, leaving Ouro Preto in its time capsule. The 17th-century Baroque and Rococo churches of São Francisco de Assis and Matriz de Nossa Senhora do Pilar are the best examples, but the entire town is so rich in colonial architecture that Ouro Preto has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The steep streets, so precipitous in places that they become stairways, are lined by gracious colonial mansions, and white churches crown its hills with Baroque bell towers.
10 Pernambuco Beaches
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The crystal waters, tall palm trees, and broad stretches of silver sand are only a few of the reasons why Porto de Galinhas is frequently cited as Brazil’s best beach. For a country with more than 7,000 kilometers of Atlantic coast, much of it sandy beaches, that’s saying a lot. The town stretching along the beach is laidback, colorful, and just the right blend of old-fashioned beach town fun and chic boutiques. Its hotels and resorts lie close to the land instead of soaring in high-rise blocks. Jangadas, picturesque sailboats, will take you out to reef-top pools where brilliant tropical fish swim around your feet in ankle-deep water. You can also take a boat to a lagoon where tiny seahorses swim, and you can scuba dive to explore impressive coral reefs or shipwrecks, kayak in the lagoons and estuary, or buy a fanciful kite from a beach kiosk to fly in the steady breeze. Nearby Maracaipe is popular with surfers.
Porto de Galinhas is just one of the beautiful beaches on Pernambuco’s 187-kilometer coast. Closer to Recife, 17th-century Olinda is a UNESCO World Heritage Site overlooking a popular beach. The main beaches in Recife itself are Praia da Boa Viagem, São José da Coroa Grande, and the Carne De Vaca. Brazil’s other top beaches are
11 Belo Horizonte
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The capital of the state of Minas Gerais gave the pre-eminent Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer his first commissions, and today, these early Niemeyer buildings draw tourists and fans of Modernist architecture to the city. His first major work, which immediately set him apart from conventional architects, was the parabolic-curved São Francisco de Assis church, beside a lake in the Pampulha neighborhood. On the hillside above it, and connected by gardens designed by landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, is Niemeyer’s earlier casino building, now an art museum. Overlooking the large Praça da Liberdade in the city center is the sinuous apartment building, Edificio Niemeyer, one of his most famous early works. The clean geometric lines of his later Palácio das Artes mark the edge of the Municipal Park, housing the Minas Gerais Craft Center featuring works of contemporary craftsmen. The Postmodern Rainha da Sucata – Queen of Scrap Iron – is another landmark building in Belo Horizonte, this one the work of Éolo Maia and Sylvio Podestá. It now houses the mineralogy museum.
12 Art Museums of Sao Paulo
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São Paulo holds some of the best collections of fine arts in Latin America, and the buildings in which they are housed are architectural landmarks as well. The Museu de Arte, MASP, displays the continent’s most comprehensive collection of western art, with representative works by artists from the Renaissance through modern masters. There are 73 bronze sculptures by Degas and works by Renoir, Manet, Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, and Miró. From its beginning, the museum has concentrated on works of mid- to late-20th-century artists, and the building designed by architect Lina Bo Bardi is a Modernist landmark. Oscar Niemeyer designed the Pavilhão da Bienal de Artes in Ibirapuera Park, home to the Museu de Arte Contemporânea. More than 8,000 works of art – one of Latin America’s largest collections of 20th- century Western artists – includes Picasso, Chagall, Kandinsky, Miró, and Modigliani along with major Brazilian painters. Set above Versailles-inspired formal gardens, Museu do Ipirangahouses paintings and decorative arts.
When you think of Brazil, you probably think of Rio de Janeirowith its glamorous Copacabana Beach, vibrant Lapa, and the bohemian quarters of Santa Teresa. We loved our time in Rio, but it wasn’t until we traveled further North, exploring destinations fringing the Northeastern Coast, that we discovered a thriving beach scene, unspoiled nature, deep colonial heritage, and unique succulent cuisine.
If you are dreaming about a trip to Brazil, here are a few of our favourite destinations worth visiting in this part of the country.
1. Salvador
If you are coming to Salvador from Rio de Janeiro (like we did), you’ll find the city to be a shock to the system (but in a good way). For us, its appeal was far beyond the cobblestone streets and colourful buildings of the charming Old Town (World Heritage Site) and the beautiful views of the sun setting over the ocean from the Santo Antônio da Barra Fort.
Coastline in Salvador, Brazil
It was here that we got a chance to sample some amazing Bahian cuisine (aracaje and moqueca are the best ), we learned a bit about the history of the slave trade in Brazil, and got our first introduction to the capoeira dance. If you are looking for a city to delve into Brazilian culture, Salvador is it!
2. Recife
At first glance, Recife didn’t strike us as anything special. Its gritty commercial center, full of high rise apartments and business buildings didn’t inspire us to stick around for too long, but the second we stepped foot on Recife’s long sandy drag known as Praia Boa Viagem, we knew we hit a real hot spot. The beautiful stretch of beach was full of locals and visitors enjoying sun, sand, fresh coconuts, and fried fish and offered a perfect spot to catch the days for a day or five.
3. Olinda
Just half an hour north of Recife sits a pretty little town of Olinda, that in our opinion had more charm and appeal than most other cities in Brazil’s Northeast.
We fell in love with Olinda’s pastel-coloured buildings, winding streets, and beautiful views that emerged once we climbed to Alto da Se, the cathedral square at the top of the town. Street food and souvenir stalls filled the square with buzz and excitement, making it that much harder to say goodbye to this bohemian town and move on.
4. Fernando de Noronha
The island of Fernando de Noronha is Brazil’s best kept secret. It’s exclusive (only 400 people are allowed to be visiting the island at once) and it’s expensive (flights to the island, island fees, food, activities, and accommodation added up to be well over our budget), but there is a very good reason for that.
The untouched nature on the island and surrounding its shores is unlike anything else we have seen in Brazil. Fernando is a haven for active travelers offering a multitude of hikes, snorkeling and diving opportunities, and some of the most beautiful beaches in the country.
5. Morro Branco
The small inconspicuous beach of Morro Branco doesn’t seem to make it onto travelers itineraries. We say that because, during our visit, we were the only foreigners in the sea of local visitors. We knew that we hit a local hot spot when a tour guide taking a group of locals around the area laughed in our face when we asked if his tour was available in English.
Luckily, the topography of Morro Branco’s sandy cliffs radiating in a variety of yellow, orange, and red shades told us everything we cared to know. We walked around the small canyon, running through the heart of the cliffs, completely mesmerised by the views, thrilled to have discovered a spot as unique as this.
6. Jericoacoara
The further North we traveled, the more sand we encountered in Northeast Brazil. Luckily, Jericoacoara, a small town in the heart of the sandy National Park by the same name, offered more than sand. The town was built completely on sand, but walking down its Main Street lined with boutique shops, kite surfing schools, and amazing restaurants, it was easy to forget exactly how remote this place was.
Jericoacoara sucked us in hard. A fishing village turned hippy backpacker town, Jeri had it all. Activities (kite-boarding, surfing, jeep tours, etc), beach, shopping, dining, and a happening nightlife make Jeri an easy place to get stuck in. We almost did.
7. Lençóis Maranhenses
If there was a place worth leaving Jeri for, it was the sprawling sand dune park of Lençóis Maranhenses. Lencpis is an incredible natural phenomenon, a place where sand dominates all, where the horizon is filled with dunes and more dunes, where sheep and goats farm on the tiniest patched of grass, and where beautiful green freshwater lagoons create an incredible landscape. (While offering a much-needed place for a refreshing swim after a long hike up and down the dunes).
