Brazil
Overview
Wild, exuberant and passionate, Brazil is a big country with a big heart. It's a vast storehouse of natural wonders with the Amazon, its artery plunging into Brazil's heart, just one of this land's super-sized attractions. Its cities are full on and fabulous, whether you visit during Carnival or not. Its beaches or sultry and sensual, its rain forests steamy and abundant with life. It's a huge country - so large that it could easily swallow up every other nation in South America. The south and east, the most developed and populated area, has a more pleasant climate from tropical to temperate, than the arid north or steamy interior. This area is home to such exciting cities as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and, further up the coast, Brazil's developing tourist resorts of Costa do Sauipe and Praia do Forte.
Despite its vast, tropical heartlands, Brazil is an urban country, with two out of three Brazilians living in the country's frenetic, throbbing cities. Visit at least one of these for instant exposure to this country's head-on, tempestuous character. Salvador is a great, accessible, totally Brazilian city with winding streets, city beaches full of preening young men and women, all-night bars and graceful old churches. It's like nowhere else on earth - and is just a taste of what you expect from larger population centres which should only be attempted if you know the Portuguese for 'take me home, I can't take it anymore!'
Natal is a city whose live revolves around the sea or, more accurately, its wonderful beach. Surrounded by hundreds of miles of gigantic dunes, it is best known for its endless sunshine, tropical beaches, surfing conditions and laid-back, anything-goes philosophy. With 7,500 miles of seaboard, it comes as no surprise that this is a country which loves to commune with its coast, but Brazil's interior refuses to play second fiddle to its world famous beaches such as Copacabana and Ipanema. Not a chance.
Natural wonders not to leave Brazil without trying include a trip up river - an Amazon river cruise will leave your jaw open, camera shutter finger sore and soul uplifted: it's like a David Attenborough box set of DVDs. Unmissable. As are the Iguassu Falls, the wildlife of the Pantanal wetlands and the Tijuca national park, rubbing shoulders with the shanty towns of Rio. And that's another stark fact of life in this disparate country - rich and poor, beauty and desolation, stylish living and street culture are all intricately interwoven. Sure, the resorts are spic and span, but Brazil likes to show you its real, unretouched side as much as it does its glittery, party-ready face. Accept this, and you're ready for one rollercoaster ride of a holiday.
