Brazil travel guide

If there is one colonial town you should visit while in Brazil it should be Ouro Preto. It was here that the first steps for independence from Portugal were taken.
Since Ouro Preto is in Minas Grais state, one of the principal mining areas of the country, the city was very wealthy during the gold rush. It was the state capital for a while back in the 19th century. Now Ouro Preto is mainly known for its beautiful colonial and Baroque architecture. You can totally knock yourself out in visiting churches here. If you get tired of visiting churches just enjoy the chilled atmosphere or go for a hike just outside the city.

If you like to hike and you love the beach but you can’t choose, you can head to the South of the state of Rio de Janeiro - to the island Ilha Grande. Catch the boat from Agra dos Reis and settle in the town of Abraão.
Ilha Grande is covered with Atlantic rainforest. The hilly island has plenty of trails to explore. Strap on your hiking boots or step into your flip flops and hike across the island to one of the beaches. The beautiful beach Lopez Mendes for example makes a beautiful hike of a few hours. You cross the mountains passing by several beaches and you get rewarded with a perfectly squeaky white sand beach and lovely surf.

Once a quiet fishing village, Trancoso has been transformed into a popular tourist destination but has managed to retain its beauty and charm. In the centre of the village, the old fishermen’s houses have been beautifully renovated into quaint shops and restaurants and at the end of the square sits the perfect white church that overlooks the beaches.
The beaches are long and not too crowded. You can go for long hikes on the beaches, go horseback riding or sip a beer or Caipirinha at a beach bar. If you are lucky, you can catch a performance by the locals doing capoeira.

South from the Pantanal in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul is the small town of Bonito. The name means "beautiful" and that is the right name for the surroundings of Bonito. There are so many cool things you can do in this area. Unfortunately many of them are on the expensive side but some of them are well worth the extra Real.
River snorkeling is one of these great activities. You get a wetsuit and float down the crystal-clear Rio da Prata river. There are several caves that you can go explore and in one of them you can do a 100m rappel. On another spot you can observe parrots who are nesting in the cliffs of a sunken hole.

Everyone knows the images of Carnaval in Rio. The 12 best schools parade through the Sambodromo spread out over two days and nights. You can buy a ticket to watch the parade but try not to end up in the foreigner sectors. There’s a lot more dancing and partying when you are surrounded by Brazilians! Learn the samba songs by heart so that you can chant with the thousands of other spectators and know who is who in the parade so that you get most out of it.
Did you know that you can also actually join the parade? This is the real deal. You can join a samba school, buy a costume and parade as a real samba queen/king!
Then there are the street parties all over the city. These parties are free and easy to join. The street bands follow a circuit and people join to dance, party, drink, kiss,....
Don’t just blindly head out to carnaval. There is a lot to do in Rio and it is best to seek information so that you know what is going on and can enjoy the party with all it has to offer.

Get away from the Bahian beaches and head to the Chapada Diamantina and Vale do Capão for some hiking. Before it became a national park, the Chapada Diamantina was a diamant mining area, hence its name. You can go trekking for multiple days or do day hikes in a landscape of table mountains and waterfalls.
At the cahoeira da fumaça you can hang your head over the edge of the cliff and watch the waterfall go down ..... and spray up again, not touching the ground.
Lençois is the main access place for the Chapada Diamantina and is a pretty and lively colonial town where you can easily spend a few days.

Only a few hours away from the capital Brasilia, in the state of Goias, is the Chapada dos Veiadeiros. A National Park great for hiking with plenty of waterfalls where you can cool down and swim.
The Vale da Lua (valley of the moon) is part of the National Park. This is where a river runs through a landscape of boulders smoothened by the river making is seem a bit like a moonscape. It is fun to follow the river jumping from boulder to boulder and eventually jump in the water.
Both towns nearby - Alta Paraiso and São Jorge - are quiet and typical towns of the interior of Brazil. At night you can chill at a local bar and with some luck the locals will start playing music and start singing Brazilian country songs.

These wetlands in the South West of the country, in the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, is one of the the best places in the country for seeing wildlife. You'll have to take a tour for a few days or stay at one of the Fazendas (farms) who organize trips in the countryside.
Of course, as with all wildlife viewing, you'll need some luck but with a decent local guide you have a good chance of seeing capybara, tapir, anteater, armadillo and anaconda. For sure you’ll see cayman and many parrots and you can go horseback riding and pirana fishing. The Pantanal also has many jaguars but don't count on seeing those.
The Pantanal is not just a tourist area but also a cattle breeding area so you'll probably bump into some real cowboys.

Maybe not as famous as the carnaval in Rio but definitely a party not to be missed. There is not a lot of samba or decorated floats in Salvador. Instead there are "trio electrico’s" or also called blocos, which are trucks with a band on top of them, playing mainly Axé and Samba-reggae music. These trucks slowly follow one of the three circuits in the city. Around each truck is a huge rope carried by people. If you want to follow the truck from within the rope you have to purchase a special shirt for that night for that bloco. You can also be a "pipoca" and spend your time on the streets watching all trucks and bands pass by. Every year several of the same famous Brazilian bands and artists are programmed such as Ivete Sangalo, Timbalada, Chiclete com Banana, Daniela Mercury and the more traditional Afro-Brazilian bloco Filhos de Gandhi.
If your feet and back are not tired after 6 days of strait partying you’re a true champion!

Brazil shares these fantastic waterfalls with Argentina. They are not the largest, highest, widest, etc of the world, others take these honors, but they are very impressive. You can go visit from either country. From the Brazilian side you get a larger overview of the falls from a trail across the river. It gives you a good idea of the vastness of the falls. Also the surrounding nature is beautiful. You can see several animals. Birds such as egrets and toucans but also the adorable Coati. Foz do Iguaçu is the access town but except for visiting the falls there is little else to do here.