Activities in Brazil

Jungle treks
The Amazon rainforest is the world’s largest biological reserve. It contains one-third of all living species on the earth and is crossed by 10 of the world’s 20 largest rivers, including the River Amazon (the largest river in the world). The usual base for trips to the Amazon is the city of Manaus, where numerous tour operators can arrange anything from standard day trips to month-long expeditions to more remote areas.

It is best to hire a local guide (trips without guides are only allowed on certain trails). During the rainy season (February to April), the flooded rainforest can be explored by boat or canoe. Several jungle lodges and hotels offer ecotourism packages, though many of these tend to be expensive. River cruises to the so-called ‘wedding of the waters’, where the clear waters of the Rio Negro meet the muddy Amazon, are popular. For information on wildlife, see the Where to Go section.

Hiking and climbing
The best time for hiking and climbing is from April to October. Rio de Janeiro is the center of Brazilian rock climbing: over 300 climbs can be reached within 40 minutes from the city center. There are many great hiking trails in the national parks and along the coastline.

The Iguaçu Falls on the Parana River near the junction of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay is one of the world’s greatest waterfalls, with 275 cataracts. Boat trips to the falls from Rio are available and take two days. Good aerial views can be enjoyed from a helicopter tour of the falls that can be booked on location.

Watersports
Brazil is one of the world’s top surfing destinations. The best places to surf in Brazil include Joaquina Beach (near Florianopolis in Santa Catarina state, which hosts the annual Brazilian surfing championships); Saquarema (in Rio state); Buzios (a chic resort area on the Cabio Frio Peninsula); Itacoatiara; and a string of beaches near Rio de Janeiro.

There are hundreds of beaches along the coastline suitable for many types of watersports, some of the best being at Buzios; Angra (on the Costa Verde, which is fairly uncrowded, with access to hundreds of offshore islands); Fortaleza; Niteroi (near Rio, with three good beaches); and Itamaraca Island (north of Recife). Diving can be practiced in Fernando de Noronha (a small archipelago off Brazil’s north eastern coast in Pernambuco state, where a strict environmental protection program allows a maximum of 420 visitors at a time); Angra dos Reis (a seaside village in Rio de Janeiro state, part of Ilha Grande Bay, with possible diving trips to 300 surrounding islands); Bonito (located in the fairly untouched and undeveloped Panatal region); Recife (the ‘birthplace’ of Brazil, offering excellent diving in the vicinity); and Parcel Manoel Luis. Diving clubs are located all along the coastline. For further information, contact the Brazilian Tourist Board - EMBRATUR (see General Info section).

Golf
Rio de Janeiro’s spectacular location makes for a number of dazzling golf courses. The Gavea Golf and Country Club, located beneath the massive Gavea rock and next to Sao Conrado beach, has an 18-hole course; non-members are not allowed at Itanhanga Golf Club has a 9- and an 18-hole course, located near Barra da Tijuca beach.

Carnaval and music
four days in the South, to two weeks in northern cities such as Salvador and Recife. Brazilians themselves remark that the Recife and Olinda celebrations are the most distinctive but it is cities like Rio or Salvador that receive the most foreign visitors. However in every town and village in Brazil, Carnaval is a time to celebrate and the visitor will see processions and blocos every region during Carnaval time.

Accommodation is traditionally prepaid in four- or five-day blocks and overland travel during Carnaval is notoriously difficult, although always entertaining!

Music: Brazil is the perfect place to sample the samba, bossa nova or lambada and the major cities, particularly Rio de Janeiro, are full of cafes with live music and dancing. Gefieiras are samba parlours where visitors can either watch or join in. In Rio, many gefieiras are located on the south side. The Copacabana beach, where parties are staged nearly 24 hours a day, is also a good location for sampling some Latin American entertainment.

An exciting way to experience the genuine samba is by attending a rehearsal at the escolas de samba (samba schools), which open their doors to visitors a couple of months before the beginning of Rio de Janeiro’s carneval. Bandas, the non-professional equivalent of the samba schools, are also a good place to practice.

Tickets for the carnival go on sale two weeks before the beginning. The best costumes and most spectacular samba parades can be seen at the Sambodromo (Sambadrome), a stadium on Rua Marques de Sapucai, where 14 samba schools parade on Carnival Sunday and Monday; the parades go on for 24 hours and tickets should be bought well in advance.

It is possible for visitors to take part in a parade. One week of preparation should be allowed and hotels can often make all the necessary arrangements. During carnival, foreign visitors should be alert to pickpockets and not carry more money than needed.

Football: A good way to experience the Brazilian Maracana Stadium, the largest in the world.

Tourist Attractions in Brazil

The International Gateways to Brazil

Rio de Janeiro

Known as the cidade maravilhosa (the marvellous city), Rio has one of the most beautiful settings in the world. The city’s spectacular harbor is dominated by the famous rocky outcrop, Pao de Açucar (Sugar Loaf), and, further up, the Corcovado (Hunchback) peak, rising 709m (2326ft) above the Baia de Guanabara and providing the focal point for the classic Rio skyline.

The Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) statue stands on top of Corcovado. Pao de Açucar can be reached by two cable cars ascending 396m (1300ft) above Rio and the Baia de Guanabara (one leaves approximately every 30 minutes). Flocks of tourists arriving by tour buses can sometimes spoil the view, so visitors should avoid the busiest times (between 1000-1100 and 1400-1500). The Corcovado peak is located within the Parque Nacional da Tijuca, and is accessible by cog train (leaving from the Rua Cosme Velho).

From the top there are magnificent views of Rio. Taxis also take visitors up to the peak and driving there will take up to an hour. Rio’s other landmarks are its numerous beaches, most notably the infamous Copacabana and Ipanema. Beach life is a ritual in Brazil and different beach sections reflect different ways of life and fashions.

The Girl from Ipanema beach is particularly popular with young people and is located at Posto Nine in Ipanema. Owing to strong waves and undertows, swimming off Ipanema can be dangerous. Rio’s other main beaches include Arpoador, Barra da Tijuca, Botafogo, Flamengo, Leblon, Leme, Pepino and Vidigal.

Rio has many interesting museums, including the Museu Historico Nacional, located in the Sao Tiago Fortress. The Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro contains Brazil’s most important collection of modern art. The Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niteroi, designed by famous architect Oscar Niemeyer and overlooking Boa Viagem beach, showcases contemporary Brazilian art.

The Museu do Folclore Edison Carneiro displays folk art and art naif. The Museu do Ã?ndio contains some 14,000 objects made by Brazilian Indians and is one of the nation’s most important Indian heritage museums. The Museu da Republica is set in the well-restored Palacio do Catete and reveals a fascinating insight into Brazilian history.

Sao Paulo
The view from the top of Sao Paulo’s tallest building, the Edificio Italiano reveals South America’s largest city (over 9 million inhabitants) and Brazil’s financial, commercial and industrial heartland. Famed throughout the continent for its abundant nightlife and shopping, Sao Paulo’s rapidly growing population resides in a sprawling urban maze characterized by perpetual traffic jams and a chronic lack of space.

While Sao Paulo’s concrete jungle is a far cry from the color and charm of other Brazilian cities, there are some cultural attractions on offer, notably the MASP - Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo with an internationally renowned collection of impressionist paintings (with works by Van Gogh and Degas amongst many others).

Food and Dining in Brazil

Many regional variations are very different from North American and European food. One example is Bahian cookery, derived from days when slaves had to cook scraps and anything that could be caught locally, together with coconut milk and palm oil. Specialities include vatapa (shrimps, fish oil, coconut milk, bread and rice), sarapatel (liver, heart, tomatoes, peppers, onion and gravy) and caruru (shrimps, okra, onions and peppers).

From Rio Grande do Sul comes churrasco (barbecued beef, tomato and onion sauce), galleto al primo canto (pieces of cockerel cooked on the spit with white wine and oil). From Amazonas comes pato no tucupi (duck in rich wild green herb sauce) and tacaca (thick yellow soup with shrimps and garlic). In the northeast, dried salted meat and beans are the staple diet.

In Rio de Janeiro, a favorite dish is feijoada (thick stew of black beans, chunks of beef, pork, sausage, chops, pigs’ ears and tails on white rice, boiled green vegetables and orange slices). Types of establishment vary. Table service is usual in most restaurants and cafes and a service charge of 10 per cent is added to most bills. If resident in a hotel, drinks and meals can often be charged to an account.

All kinds of alcoholic drink are manufactured and available and there are no licensing hours or restrictions on drinking. Beer is particularly good and draught beer is called chopp. The local liqueur is cachaça, a type of rum popular with locals, but not so much with visitors.

This phenomenally strong spirit is often mixed with sugar, crushed ice and limes to make caipirinha, a refreshing if intoxicating cocktail, and the Brazilian national drink. Southern Brazilian wine is of a high quality. Some bars have waiters and table service. Brazilian coffee is served in espresso-sized cups and is extremely popular.

Cliamte of Brazil

Weather
Varies from arid scrubland in the interior to the impassable tropical rainforests of the northerly Amazon jungle and the tropical eastern coastal beaches.

The south is more temperate. Rainy seasons occur from January to April in the north, April to July in the northeast and November to March in the Rio/Sao Paulo area.

Required clothing
Lightweight cottons and linens with waterproofing for the rainy season. Warm clothing is needed in the south during winter (June to July).

Specialist clothing is needed for the Amazon region. Warm clothing is advised if visiting the southern regions in winter time. The sunlight is extremely bright and sunglasses are recommended.

Shopping in Brazil

In Rio and Sao Paulo, major shops and markets stay open quite late in the evening. Rio and Bahia specialise in antiques and jewelry. Special purchases include gems (particularly emeralds), jewelry (particularly silver), souvenirs and permissible antiques, leather or snakeskin goods.

Fashions and antiques, crystal and pottery are a specialty of Sao Paulo. Belem, the city of the Amazon valley, specialises in jungle items, but be careful that you are not purchasing objects that have been plundered from the jungle, contributing to the general destruction. Check for restrictions on import to your home country of goods made from skins of protected species.

Shopping hours
Mon-Sat 0900-1900. Supermarkets are open Mon-Sat 0800-2200. Major shopping centers also open on Sundays 1500-2200. All the above times are subject to local variations and many shops open until late in the evenings, especially in December.

Currency Information:

Currency
Real/Reais (RUSD ) = 100 centavos. Notes are in denominations of RUSD 100, 50, 10, 5 and 1. Coins are in denominations of RUSD 1, and 50, 25, 10, 5 and 1 centavos.

Currency exchange
All banks and cambios exchange recognized travelers cheques and foreign currency. There is an extensive network of ATMs around the country. The US Dollar is the most widely accepted foreign currency.

Credit and debit cards
Most major international cards are accepted. Check with your credit or debit card company for details of merchant acceptability and other services which may be available.

Brasilia is the capital city of Brazil. It is famous for its urban planning, daring architecture and rapid population growth. It is located in the Brazilian Federal District. In English, the diacritic mark on the i is often omitted and the name written Brasilia.

Location

Brasilia is located in a Federal District, created from the state of Goias in the Mid-West region of the country. The District is bordered by the Preto River in the east and by the Descoberto River to the west. Brasilia is situated on a 1000 m high plateau called the Planalto Central. The city is located at 15°45′ South, 47°57′ West (-15.75, -47.95). Brasilia is 207 km from Goiânia; 1,531 km. from Salvador; 716 km. from Belo Horizonte; and 1,015 km. from Sao Paulo.

Population and communications

Since Brasilia is less than 50 years old (2005), only about half of the city’s population consists of people born there. Most other inhabitants have moved in from the surrounding states of Goias, Minas Gerais, as well as from the North Eastern states and Rio de Janeiro.

The city was originally planned for 500,000 people, but the total population of Brasilia has already reached 2.2 million (2004 est.), when the surrounding towns, known as satellite cities, are considered. Central Brasilia, known as the Plano Piloto, has a population of around 200,000 and still has some areas in the North Wing for expansion. Most people, however, live in these satellite cities created to house the exceeding population.

The most important of these towns are: Ceilândia 350,000; Taguatinga 243,000; Sobradinho 130,000; Planaltina 150,000; and Gama 131,000. Another large part of the population lives in the so-called dormitory cities in the surrounding State of Goias–Luziânia, Planaltina de Goias and Valparaiso are some of the largest of these.

Brasilia is just one of the 29 administrative regions within a federal district that is 5,822 square km in area . Officially, only ‘Asa Sul’ (South Wing), ‘Asa Norte’ (North Wing), and the central area of ‘Plano Piloto’ (Pilot Plan) are parts of Brasilia. Unofficially, however, Brasilia can mean both the ‘Plano Piloto’ area and all of its administrative regions and satellite cities; hence, the term is often used to refer to the federal district as a whole.

Whilst most of the transportation within the federal district occurs via motorways and buses, a basic underground railway system, the Brasilia Metro, also provides transportation between Brasilia and the satellite cities of Guara, Ceilandia, Taguatinga and Samambaia, through Asa Sul.

It also links Park Shopping, one of the city’s largest shopping centres, with a few other terminals in the south and central areas of the city; nevertheless, it does not extend into the city’s northern half. Aside from the underground railway and the more comprehensive bus-based public transportation system, there is also a railway connection with Sao Paulo, but no passenger trains operate any longer.

Brasilia is served by roads that link the city to all other regions of the country. It is also a national hub for air transport. It is served by Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport, which currently (2005) has the third largest air traffic in the country. Most international flights, however, require connections through Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro.

Climate

Brasilia has dry winters and wet summers. During the dry season, the relative humidity of the air reaches critical levels during the hottest times of the day.

Maximum temperatures average 28 °C. During the dry season the temperature decreases and can reach daily lows of 13 °C in July. Maximum averages of 25 °C are still the norm.

The average temperature is 20.5 °C. The hottest month is September, with an average high of 28 °C and an average low of 16 °C. The coolest month is July, with an average high of 25 °C and an average low of 13 °C. The monthly difference between the average high is around 3 °C and the average low 5 °C.

Education

In education, Brasilia has the best indicators in the country. The literacy rate is 93.7%, according to the Human Development Index. The city has several universities. The most important public university is the University of Brasilia (UnB).

Centro Universitario de Brasilia (UniCEUB and Universidade Catolica (UCB) are the largest private universities. As in the other Brazilian states, basic education (8 grades) is public and run by the government. However, many of the best schools are privately owned and run.

Government

The federal district has an autonomous government with judicial and legislative powers. The District Governor is elected directly for a 4-year term. Local laws are issued by a legislative assembly also elected by the local population.

The district also has the status of a federal state in many aspects. It has representatives both in the Lower House of Congress (Câmara Federal) as in the national Senate. Moreover, Brasilia is home to the country’s federal government. The national executive, legislative and judicial powers are all located there.

A planned city

History

President Juscelino Kubitschek ordered the construction of Brasilia. It is a planned city. The main urban planner was Lucio Costa. Oscar Niemeyer was the chief architect to most of the public buildings and Roberto Burle Marx was the landscape designer. The city plan was based on the ideas of Le Corbusier. Brasilia was built in 41 months, from 1956 to April 21, 1960 when it was officially inaugurated.

From 1763 to 1960 Rio de Janeiro was the capital of Brazil, and resources tended to be centreed on the south east region of Brazil. Brasilia’s geographically central location in the middle of the country made for a more neutral federal capital.

However, the placement of Brazil’s capital in the interior actually dates back to the first republican constitution of 1891, which defined where the federal district should be placed, but the placement was not planned until 1922. More importantly, Brasilia’s location would promote the development of Brazil’s central region and better integrate the entire territory of Brazil. Some say the real reason was to move the government to a place far from the masses.

According to legend, in 1883 the Italian priest Don Bosco had a prophetic dream in which he described a futuristic city that roughly fitted Brasilia’s location. Today, in Brasilia, there are many references to this educator who founded the Salesian order. One of the main cathedrals carries his name.

Transportation in Brazil

Railways

total: 27,882 km (1,122 km electrified); note - excludes urban rail
broad gauge: 4,057 km 1.600-m gauge
narrow gauge: 23,489 km 1.000-m gauge
dual gauge: 336 km 1.000-m and 1.600-m gauges (three rails) (1999 est.)

standard gauge: 10 km 1.435mm gauge - line 5 of the São Paulo so that they can use off the shelf equipment.

Cities with Metros
Belo Horizonte
Brasilia
Curitiba
Porto Alegre
Recife
Rio de Janeiro
São Paulo

Railway links with adjacent countries
Uruguay - yes break-of-gauge 1600mm/1435mm
Argentina - no railway connection
Paraguay - no railway connection
Bolivia - yes - 1000mm gauge
Peru - no - 914mm and 1435mm
Colombia - no - 914mm and 1435mm
Venezuela - no - 1435mm gauge
Guyana - no - 1435mm and 914mm gauges mining only
Suriname - no - 1435mm and 1000mm gauges
French Guiana - no railways
Flordia in 951 mm away

Highways

total: 1.98 million km
paved: 184,140 km
unpaved: 1,795,860 km (1996 est.)

Waterways

50,000 km navigable that people are weard

Pipelines

crude oil 2,980 km; petroleum products 4,762 km; natural gas 4,246 km (1998)

Foreign relations of Brazil

Traditionally, Brazil has been a leader in the inter-American community and has played an important role in collective security efforts, as well as in economic cooperation in the Western Hemisphere. Brazil supported the Triple Entente in World War I after 1917 and the Allies in World War II after 1942. During World War II, its expeditionary force in Italy played a key role in the Allied victory at Monte Cassino. It is a party to the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty) and a member of the Organization of American States (OAS).

Recently, Brazil has given high priority to expanding relations with its South American neighbors and is a founding member of the Amazon Pact, the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), and Mercosul (Mercosur in Spanish), an imperfect customs union including Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil. Along with Argentina, Chile, and the United States, Brazil is one of the guarantors of the Peru-Ecuador peace process.

Brazil is a charter member of the United Nations and participates in many of its specialized agencies. It has contributed troops to UN peacekeeping efforts in the Middle East, the former Belgian Congo, Cyprus, Mozambique, Angola, and more recently East Timor and Haiti. Brazil has been a member of the UN Security Council four times, most recently 1998-2000.

As Brazil’s domestic economy has grown and diversified, the country has become increasingly involved in international politics and economics. The United States, western Europe, and Japan are primary markets for Brazilian exports and sources of foreign lending and investment.

Brazil has also bolstered its commitment to nonproliferation through ratification of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), signing a fullscale nuclear safeguard agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), acceeding to the Treaty of Tlatelolco, and becoming a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Recently, Brazil has been considerably reluctant to help forming the Free Trade Area of the Americas agreement, leaving more controversial issues up to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Disputes - international: Two short sections of boundary with Uruguay are in dispute - Arroio Invernada (Arroyo de la Invernada) area of the Rio Quarai (Rio Cuareim) and the islands at the confluence of the Rio Quarai and the Uruguay River.

Music of Brazil

Strong influences on the music of Brazil come from all parts of the world but there’s a regional music very popular with influence from Africa, Europe, the natives of the Amazon rainforest and of other parts of the country. Samba is undoubtedly the most internationally famous form of Brazilian music, though bossa nova and other genres have also received international attention.

Brazilian music history

Colonial music

The earliest known descriptions of music in Brazil date from 1578, when Jean De Lery, a French Calvinist pastor, published Viagem à Terra do Brasil (Journey to the Land of Brazil). He described the dances and transcribed the music of the Tupi people. In 1587, Gabriel Soares de Sousa wrote Tratado Descritivo do Brasil about the music of several native Brazilian ethnic groups, including the Tamoios and Tupinambas.

King Joao VI of Portugal was a noted lover of music, and spent a period of time in Brazil. He sent for prominent European musicians to join him, including Austrian pianist Sigismund von Neukomm and composer Marcos Portugal. A local Brazilian musician, Jose Mauricio Nunes Garcia, an organist and clavichordist, was appointed Inspector to the Royal Chapel.

In 1739, Domingos Caldas Barbosa wrote a series of modinhas that were extremely popular. Modinhas are a kind of sentimental love song of uncertain origin, as it may have evolved either in Brazil or Portugal.

Lundu was the first kind of African music to flourish in Brazil. Lundu, a style of comedic song and dance, was extremely popular and was even performed in the Portuguese court.

Independent Brazil

Brazil became independent in 1822, following the Brazilian War of Independence. Soon after, the African comic song lundu spread from poor blacks to broader, middle-class and white audiences.

Towards the end of the 18th century a form of comedic dance called bumba-meu-boi became very popular. It was a musical retelling of the story of a resurrected ox. These dances are led by a chamador, who introduces the various characters. Instruments used include the pandeiro, the tamborim, the accordion and the acoustic guitar.

Cuisine of Brazil

Brazil’s population is a racial mix of native Amerindians, Portuguese, Africans, Italians, Spaniards, Germans, Syrians, Lebanese and Asians. This has created a national cooking style marked by the preservation of regional differences.

Brazil’s five main cuisine regions

North

Collectively, the region is known as Amazonia for it includes a large part of the rain forest, and tributaries flowing into the Amazon River. Culturally, the Amazon basin is heavily populated by native Indians or people of mixed Indian and Portuguese ancestry who live on a diet of fish, root vegetables such as manioc, yams, and peanuts, plus palm or tropical fruit.

The cuisine of this region is heavily Indian-influenced. One popular dish is Caruru do Para, a one-pot meal of dried shrimp, okra, onion, tomato, cilantro, and palm oil.

Northeast

Geographically the region comprises a dry, semi-arid region used for cattle ranches inland from the fertile coastal plain, an economically important sugar cane and cacao growing area.

Within the State of Bahia the predominate cuisine is Afro-Bahian, which evolved from plantation cooks improvising on African, Indian, and traditional Portuguese dishes using locally available ingredients.

Typical dishes include vatapa and moqueca (both have seafood and palm oil), besides acaraje (a salted muffin made with white beans, onion and fried in dendê oil) which is filled with dried shrimp, red pepper and caruru (mashed okra with ground cashew nut, smoked shrimp, onion, pepper and garlic). The main staple is a plate of white rice and black beans but other common foods include farofa, paçoca, canjica, pamonha, quibebe, quiabo, and cashew nuts.

In the remainder of the coastal plains there is less African influence on the food, but seafood, shellfish, and tropical fruit are menu staples. Commonly eaten tropical fruits in the Northeast include mango, papaya, guava, orange, passionfruit, pineapple, sweetsop, hog-plum, and cashew (the fruit, not the nut).

Inland, in the arid, drought stricken cattle-growing and farm lands, foods typically include ingredients like dried meat, rice, beans, goat, manioc and corn meal.

Central-West

A region comprising dry open savannas or prairies with wooded terrain in the north. The famous Pantanal, one of the finest game and fishing regions on earth, is also located in the Central-West region of Brazil.

Fish, beef and pork from the vast ranches of the region dominate the menu, along with harvested crops of soybean, rice, maize, and manioc.