Brazil is a country of continental proportions and extraordinary vitality — the world's fifth-largest nation by area and by population, occupying nearly half of South America and bordering every country on the continent except Chile and Ecuador. From the tropical Amazon basin that covers sixty percent of its territory to the Atlantic coastline stretching 7,500 kilometres, from the modernist capital of Brasília to the colonial gold towns of Minas Gerais, Brazil contains multitudes that no single journey can exhaust.
The Amazon rainforest is the world's largest tropical rainforest — a living system of barely comprehensible biodiversity that produces twenty percent of the world's oxygen and is home to an estimated ten percent of all species on earth. Manaus, the jungle metropolis on the banks of the Amazon, is the gateway to river expeditions and jungle lodges where wildlife encounters with pink river dolphins, caimans, sloths, and macaws are part of the daily rhythm. The meeting of the waters — where the dark, tannin-rich Rio Negro meets the sandy-coloured Amazon — is one of the world's great natural spectacles.
Rio de Janeiro is one of the most naturally beautiful cities ever built. Corcovado mountain, topped by the outstretched arms of Christ the Redeemer, overlooks a city hemmed by jungle-covered granite peaks, Atlantic beach, and a harbour of extraordinary form. Carnival, the five-day festival before Lent, is the largest party on earth — a weeks-long spectacle of samba schools parading through the Sambadrome in feathered costumes and pulsing music that engulfs the entire city. Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, the Barra neighbourhood, and the hillside favelas with their vibrant visual culture and funk music define a city of irresistible energy.
The Pantanal, the world's largest tropical wetland, offers the best jaguar-spotting in the world — caiman, giant river otters, capybara, and hyacinth macaws add to a wildlife spectacle that rivals the Okavango Delta. The colonial baroque churches of Ouro Preto in Minas Gerais are masterworks of Brazilian art history. The Iguaçu Falls, shared with Argentina, are wider than Niagara and more powerful — standing on the Brazilian side watching 275 falls thunder into the gorge is genuinely breathtaking.
Brazilian cuisine ranges from churrasco barbecue and feijoada black bean stew to fresh açaí, pão de queijo cheese bread, and brigadeiro chocolate truffles. Caipirinha, made with cachaça, lime, and sugar, is the national cocktail.
June through September is the dry season for most of the country. Brazil offers more than any traveller can absorb in a lifetime.
