Best Travel Destinations - Brazil
Rio de Janeiro savors the title of Carnival Capital of the world, as it hosts the largest, wildest, most indulgent Carnival celebrations annually. The public celebration includes street parties, parades, circuses and masquerades. Some of Carnivals attractions are free like the street carnival but others like the Samba Parade and the marvelous Balls are not, so look to book your tickets in advance. The Samba parade, the highlight for many, takes place from dusk till dawn at the Sambodromo, a 700 meter long parade strip. This show is the stage for an exhilarating competition by the top 14 samba schools, each outfitted in lavish costumes, despite that the participants are usually from the poorest neighborhoods. Each school is accompanied by marching samba bands, floats, and ...
As the bow of the river boat cuts gently through the water, you might have a hard time placing that those waters are actually that of the largest, most feral waterway in the world, The Amazon River. Locked between the Ucayali River and the Maranon River, the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve forms the mouth of the Amazon River. As one of the largest protected areas in Peru, Pacaya Samiria National Reserve cradles abundant eco-diversity in its lush rainforest canopy. One of the biggest lures of an Amazon River cruise, aside from the convenience of a mobile luxury location amidst wilderness, is the wildlife. Spanning over 6,475,000 sq. km, the Amazon Basin represents 54% of all remaining rainforest on the planet. Although it is sparsely populated ...
In the middle of the poor and dusty central plains of the Brazilian state of Bahia, there arises a highland plateau that can only be described as a natural paradise. Chapada Diamantina National Park is about 1,500 square kilometers, including hills, valleys, monoliths and mountains. Here you will find rivers rambling through the semi-arid tropical forest where fruit trees overhang the banks. Waterfalls and natural slides abound. On the forest floor you'll encounter crystals, and underground are caves where gold and diamonds have been discovered. “Chapada” means a region of steep cliffs near a plateau. The name Diamantina stuck after diamonds were discovered here in the mid 19th century. There are parts of the park that look like a green Arizona. Other parts are covered ...
A dominant image of the Brazilian street party is being swept up in a crowd of joyful participants, abandoning restrictions, and living in the moment. There are throbbing crowds, tropical music, and a beach backdrop. Carnival can be too big for some, so there is a Catholic celebration every January in Salvador de Bahia that offers all that Carnival brings, and more. The Lavagem do Bonfim in Salvador will be the best and craziest Catholic party, if not the best all around party you've ever been to. The roots of the Lavagem do Bonfim festival are tied to an old Baroque church built by the Portuguese in the 1750s in lower Salvador: The Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim. During this time Salvador was experiencing ...
One of the most notable Brazilian exports to have taken root globally is the martial art/dance tradition of Capoeira. Organized into academies like Karate or Tae Kwon Do, Capoeira schools are peppered throughout Europe and the U.S. For many people, Capoeira dance is their first introduction to Brazilian culture. Increasingly, many of them decide to make a pilgrimage to Salvador de Bahia in Brazil, considered by many to be the cradle of the art. The story goes that during slave times the African and indigenous slaves were forbidden to fight or organize. Cleverly, they masked their battle practice as an African tribal dance. The overlords were happy that the slaves were pacified, and their slaves stayed fit and ready to resist when the opportunity arose. ...
Like Rio de Janeiro and Salvador de Bahia, Recife in Brazil is best known for it's jubilant carnival. But Recife, the fourth largest metropolitan area in Brazil, deserves a closer look after all the crowds have left. There is plenty to see in Recife, but the most appealing thing about the city is the easygoing and modernist attitude of its residents. Unlike Salvador: rooted in the past, or Rio: trying hard to be glamorous, Recife is laid back and open-minded. It's full of youth organizations, graffiti artists, innovative musicians and otherwise friendly and interesting folk. Recife feels like a place where stuff is happening. The best thing to do upon arriving in Recife is to find a cultural program guide in a hostel, hotel or ...
It's not easy to get to, but once you get there you won't want to leave. This just might be the beach you go to in your mind when you need to relax. Here at Boipeba the Inferno river cuts through a vast mangrove estuary carving a palm-covered island out of the tropical Atlantic coast. The climate is perfect, the water is warm, and the locals are cool. Crowds are non-existent (this is a protected area so no roads) but the conveniences you find here are quaint, affordable, and local. Back to the beach: though it's all smooth white sand and coconut palms, you'll find more to do here than just sunbathe. The confluence of the waters where the river meets the ocean and the ...
The carnival in Salvador de Bahia is recognized by Guinness World Records to be the largest street party in the world. This is truly a massive week of partying, attended by hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors, and literally millions of Brazilians. The secret to surviving and having a good time is to learn some background before you arrive; and then travel light and go with the flow. Do some research ahead of time so that you'll understand what going on when the party flares up! Salvador's Carnival centers around local schools, or blocos, that organize massive marching bands complete with dancers and costumes. If you know a little about the key players, it will help you clue in to the action. Besides having a ...
Brazil in mid-summer is hot. My wife and I needed to escape the summer doldrums, and so we found a place up the highway where the folks are making music the old way. After reading about a festival of Congo musicians in the local paper, a trip to Timbui up the highway was in store to check it out. In front of the country church, a converging marching band were preparing to parade. Around a street fire, men began playing heavy rhythms, and women started to twirl in white dresses and wave big flags. A shout chorus of Portuguese lyrics lifted into the air telling of religious and agricultural folklore. Among the bands, burly men in harnesses rolled a huge fake boat through the streets ...
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