Brazil

Planning your trip

This is Brazil

Best of Brazil

Route planner

Best wilderness experiences

When to go

What to do

Where to stay

Food and drink

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro city

East of Rio de Janeiro

Inland resorts and coffee towns

West of Rio de Janeiro

Costa Verde

São Paulo

São Paulo city

The coast of São Paulo

Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo

Belo Horizonte

Colonial towns

Western and eastern Minas Gerais

Espírito Santo

Iguaçu Falls and the south

Paraná

Santa Catarina

Rio Grande do Sul

Bahia

Salvador

The Cocoa and Dendê coasts

The Discovery and Whale coasts

Linha Verde and the northern coast

Chapada Diamantina and the Sertão

Recife and the northeast coast

Recife and around

Paraíba

Sergipe and Alagoas

Fortaleza and the far northeast

Ceará

Piauí

Maranhão

Rio Grande do Norte

The Amazon

Amazonas and the Amazon River

Pará and Amapá

Roraima

Rondônia and Acre

Brasília, Goiás and Tocantins

Brasília

Goiás

Tocantins

The Pantanal

Mato Grosso do Sul and the southern Pantanal

Mato Grosso and the northern Pantanal

Background

History

Culture

Religion

Land and environment

Books

Footnotes

Basic Portuguese for travellers

Glossary

Index

Credits

There are few countries as beautiful and vibrant as Brazil with nature so exuberant and people so welcoming. Thousands of miles of pristine and usually deserted beaches line the coast, some pounded by superb surf, others lapped by a gentle sea. They are backed by dunes the size of deserts, or forests of swaying coconut palms. Offshore, jewel-like islands offer some of the best diving and snorkelling in the South Atlantic.

The table-top mountains of the Brazilian interior are drained by mineral-rich rivers that tumble through gorges and rush over spectacular tiered waterfalls. In the Amazon, virgin forest stretches unbroken for more than 2500 km in every direction and the earth is a tapestry of green broken by a filigree of rivers. There are islands here too, the largest bigger than Denmark, and wilder and more forested than Borneo. The Pantanal, the world’s biggest wetland, offers the best wildlife watching in the western hemisphere.

The tiny gold-mining towns of Goiás and Minas Gerais contrast with the busy metropolises of São Paulo, Salvador and Recife, which offer the most exciting and surprising urban culture in Latin America. And then there’s Rio, the jewel in the country’s urban crown, with its islands, mountains and beautiful beaches.

But best of all there are the Brazilians, in all their joyful diversity. The peoples of Portugal, Africa and indigenous America mingled here with Spanish, Italians, Japanese, Jews, Germans and Arabs. Kibe and sushi, bierfests and rodeos are as much a part of the culture as samba and football.

Brazil is becoming big news after the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ and the 2016 Olympics. So come before Brazil becomes yet another destination on the exotic travel circuit, and have it all to yourself.

Alex Robinson

Gardênia

Robinson

Best of

Brazil

top things to do and see

Rio de Janeiro

Known to the locals as the City of Marvels, no city on earth has a setting to compare. Rainforest-covered mountains rise sheer from a bottle-green ocean and a vast wine-glass bay. The beaches and music are wonderful, and carnival is one of the world’s greatest spectacles. See here.

São Paulo

This is the party capital with Brazil’s best music and nightlife. Its interminable labyrinths of concrete are unprepossessing at first, but those who find their way into the maze, preferably with a local guide, discover the finest nightlife, restaurants, high-end shopping and popular culture in South America. See here.

Iguaçu Falls

When President Theodore Roosevelt’s wife saw this magnificent cascade straddling the border with Argentina and Paraguay she reputedly said ‘poor Niagara’. Allow at least two days to explore the waterfalls and the temperate rainforests of the surrounding national park. See here.

Bahia

Cariocas flock to the southern beaches for their holidays. The most popular destination is the state of Bahia, offering a string of palm-shaded silvery strands lining its coast and islands. Also here is the largest colonial city in the Americas, Salvador, whose street carnival is one of Brazil’s best. See here.

Carnival in Pernambuco

It’s not just Rio that hosts a raucous Mardi Gras carnival – the whole of Brazil celebrates. Come to Pernambuco state for the most traditional Carnaval which focuses on Recife and its twin city Olinda. Streets reverberate with maracatu and frevo rhythms and erupt in a riot of colour and dance. See here.

Jericoacoara

Originally discovered by São Paulo hippies in the 1970s, over the decades this fishing community in Ceará state has turned into a laid-back boho surf town, with beachside restaurants, a starlit nightlife, sweeping dunes, kilometres of empty sands and possibly the best kite-surfing in the world. See here.

Atins

A tiny beach town in the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park with sandy streets in an astonishing landscape: on one side, a 100-km-deep desert of shifting sand dunes pocked with aquamarine lakes, on the other, endless beaches washed by shallow lagoons and dotted with blood-red scarlet ibis and snowy-white egrets. See here.

Ilha de Marajó

The world’s largest river island covers an area as large as Denmark and sits in the mouth of the Amazon. There is nowhere quite like it on earth, with long, sweeping river beaches and coconut-shaded coves, ranches and dusty towns patrolled by police on buffalo-back and skies filled with brilliantly coloured tropical birds. See here.

Alter do Chão

A tiny village in the Amazon set on Caribbean white-sand beaches fringing a river nearly as wide as the English Channel. Watch bubble-gum pink dolphins play at sunset and trek into the Amazon rainforest to see monkeys, sloths and metre-long macaws. See here.

Chapada dos Veadeiros

These table-top mountains of rust-coloured granite and bone-white quartz are cut by countless mountain streams which drop in myriad waterfalls into long, broad valleys swathed with swaying grasslands and dotted stands of stately buriti palm. Come for some of central Brazil’s best trekking, rappelling and canyoning. See here.

The Pantanal

The world’s largest wetlands are the best place to see wildlife in the Americas. Caiman, capybara and hundreds of species of bird congregate here in astonishing numbers, and nowhere offers a greater chance of seeing jaguar. In the wet season rivers spread into huge lakes, evaporating into grasslands in the dry season. See here.

Cristalino Rainforest Reserve

Set in a private Amazon reserve, this ecotourism lodge is perhaps one of the best places in the world to see lowland Amazon wildlife. All the big mammals – including tapir, jaguar, puma – live here in healthy numbers, and harpy eagles nest nearby. Wildlife-spotting facilities and guiding are second to none. See here.

Rio de Janeiro

São Paulo

Iguaçu Falls

Bahia

Carnival in Pernambuco

Jericoacoara

Atins

Ilha de Marajó

Alter do Chão

Chapada dos Veadeiros

The Pantanal

Cristalino Rainforest Reserve

Route

planner

putting it all together

It’s easy to underestimate Brazil’s size. Think of the US without Alaska or Australia with France and the UK added on and you’ll be close. Distances are huge, so allow plenty of time and try not to do too much. Brazil is big enough for a second trip, and after the first you’ll be itching to return.

One week

beaches, waterfalls and carnival

Begin in Rio over a weekend and take in the city sights and the nightlife in Lapa. On Monday leave for the beach resort town of Búzios or the pretty colonial port of Paraty, which is surrounded by beautiful beaches, especially near Trindade. Consider taking a trip to the island of Ilha Grande or the rainforests and hiking trails of Itatiaia National Park. On Wednesday either take a bus south to Curitiba (via Santos or São Paulo) and catch the Serra Verde train to Paranaguá and the Ilha do Mel or return to Rio and fly to the Iguaçu Falls. On Friday fly to São Paulo for a taste of that city’s restaurants and nightlife and take a flight home from there.

Alternatively, devote your week to experiencing Carnaval. Fly into Recife on a Friday for Brazil’s best, least expensive and most traditional large carnival and mix with the crowds at the opening ceremony. Spend Sunday and Monday in Recife/Olinda watching the maracatu blocos before flying south to Salvador on Tuesday and spending a few days with the crowds partying in the streets. Fly to Rio for Saturday’s champions’ parade in the Sambódromo; relax on the beach and fly home on Sunday.

Two weeks

Amazon to Recife or Salvador to Rio by beach

Head to the vibrant colonial city of Belém at the mouth of the Amazon; try to arrive on a weekend to experience the fabulous nightlife. Either spend a few days recovering on the beaches of Ilha de Marajó or take a bus or flight south to São Luís, one of Brazil’s least known colonial highlights with fascinating African culture. After a few days’ sightseeing in the city and nearby Alcântara, head for the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, a spectacular sand dune desert on the wild, windy Atlantic. Continue to Jericoacoara in Ceará for more beautiful beaches and some of the world’s best wind and kitesurfng. Briefly stop at Fortaleza for some forró dancing and a stop at the beach resorts of Canoa Quebrada and Pipa, in Rio Grande do Norte, before arriving in Olinda and Recife at the weekend. Fly out from Recife.

Begin in Salvador, Brazil’s first capital, with its impressive historical centre and vibrant African-Brazilian culture. After a few days head to Itacaré, a laid-back surf town to the south, and spend a few days holed up on the beach. Take a long bus journey south to Porto Seguro, where the Portuguese first landed in Brazil, and spend a few days here or in the adjacent beach town of Arraial d’Ajuda or, if you feel like a splurge, Trancoso, South America’s beach chic capital. Don’t miss the wildlife reserve at Estação Veracruz Veracel, and the Pataxó people. Transfer south to Caravelas for a trip to the Abrolhos islands before heading south to Rio de Janeiro.

Three weeks

jungle lodges, wildlife and a space-age city

Fly into São Paulo and after a day or so in the city take a one-hour flight or a 10- to 14-hour bus ride to Cuiabá and the Pantanal, the best place for wildlife in the Americas. Take a side trip to Cristalino Jungle Lodge in the southern Amazon – one of the finest rainforest lodges in the world – then head to Brasília to see Oscar Niemeyer’s modernist fantasy city. From here take a bus north to the wilds of the Chapada dos Veadeiros World Heritage Site to trek, rappel, mountain bike or climb in a landscape of forest interspersed with rivers and some of the continent’s most beautiful waterfalls. Head north to Palmas in Tocantins and visit the surrounding forests and waterfalls or take a side-trip into the wild Jalapão table-top mountains. Then fly to Rio or Salvador and the beach.

Alternatively, after flying into São Paulo, take a long bus journey to Campo Grande and the southern Pantanal. Stay either in a fazenda or take a tour. Fly or bus it to Iguaçu, which are the world’s most impressive waterfalls. Fly from here to Belo Horizonte and a Friday or Saturday of live music, before visiting some of Latin America’s prettiest colonial towns, like Ouro Preto, Tiradentes or Diamantina. From Minas head to the coast, either at Rio or Salvador.

Four weeks

Amazon rivers, plunging canyons and modernist cities

Begin your journey in the Amazon city of Manaus in a nearby jungle lodge or the Mamirauá Reserve. Take a boat to lively Belém at the mouth of the river (preferably at the weekend to experience the nightlife). From here follow the Amazon to Recife by a beach route (see under ‘Two weeks’, above), then either continue by bus to Salvador and take a flight to Rio, or fly direct to Rio from Recife. Or take a far wilder and less travelled road to Rio by heading inland from Belém or São Luís and calling in at Palmas (for the vast cerrado wilderness near Jalapão); the waterfall-covered mountains of the Chapada dos Veadeiros; the modernist capital of Brasília; Campo Grande (for the Pantanal); and São Paulo.

Best

wilderness experiences

Snorkel and dive in the islands of Brazil’s northeast

Brazil’s tropical islands are as pretty as any in Southeast Asia and, for now at least, remain free of Bob Marley theme bars and buzzing mopeds. The wildest and most beautiful are off the coast of northeastern Brazil. The Abrolhos are a string of little rocks off southern Bahia with more whales than the Whitsunday Islands. Fernando de Noronha has emerald-green water replete with underwater life. The diving and snorkelling at both is the best in the Atlantic south of the Caribbean. See here and here.

Rappelling and canyoning in the Chapadas

Brazil’s outback interior is dotted with chapadas, time-worn escarpment mountains cut by dozens of rivers and waterfalls. The Cachoeira da Fumaça in Bahia’s Chapada Diamantina National Park drops almost 500 m into a deep blue pool, while the Cachoeira do Poço Encantado in Goiás’s Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park drops over a series of beautiful tiers in pristine cerrado forest. See here and here.

Kayaking and boat trips in the Mamirauá reserve

Bruce Parry may have made it seem remote when he was there for the BBC, but tourists can visit the pristine flooded forests and river villages of Mamirauá too. The wildlife is spectacular, from red-faced uakari monkeys to Amazon manatees and huge black caiman. See here.

Hiking in Jalapão

Jalapão is one of Brazil’s least known and least visited wildernesses offering great hiking, wildlife and perhaps the most remote whitewater rafting in Latin America. There are table-top mountains, vast plains with barely a human in sight, giant indigo parrots, maned rust-red wolves and puma, plunging canyons and seas of fiery-orange dunes. See here.

Wildlife watching in the Pantanal

There is nowhere better for wildlife in the western hemisphere than the Pantanal. The lakes, rivers and forests of this seasonally flooded wetland cover an area larger than France. And they crawl with wildlife, from packs of hissing spectacled caiman, anaconda as thick as a wrestler’s thigh and more birds than you can imagine. The best way to see them is by kayaking, although walking, horse riding or riding in a jeep are also possible. See here.

Canopy safaris at Cristalino Jungle Lodge

Nowhere south of Costa Rica offers more exciting or better organized ecotourism than this jungle lodge on the banks of the clear-water Cristalino river in the northern Mato Grosso. The wildlife is superb, with nesting harpy eagles, dozens of primate species, big cats, and the best bird and butterfly species list in the lowland Amazon. One of the best ways to see the reserve is from the rainforest canopy towers. See here.

When

to go

… and when not to

The best time for a visit is from April to June, and August to October. Business visitors should avoid mid-December to the end of February, when it is hot and people are on holiday. In these months, hotels, beaches and transport tend to be very crowded. July is a school holiday month. If visiting tourist centres such as Salvador, Rio and the colonial cities in Minas Gerais in the low season, be aware that some tourist sights may be closed.

In Rio de Janeiro conditions during the winter (May to September) are like those of a north European summer, including periods of rain and overcast skies, with temperatures up to the high 20s. It is more like a Mediterranean autumn in São Paulo and the southern states and it can get very cold in the far south; warm clothing is required as temperatures can change dramatically. It can get cold on high ground anywhere in Brazil, particularly at night.

The heaviest rain is from November to March in Rio and São Paulo, and from April to August around Recife (although irregular rainfall causes severe droughts here). The rainy season in the north and Amazônia can begin in December and is heaviest from March to May, but it is getting steadily shorter, possibly as a result of deforestation. Few places get more than 2 m – the coast north of Belém, some of the Amazon Basin, and a small area of the Serra do Mar between Santos and São Paulo, where the downpour has been harnessed to generate electricity.

Summer conditions all over the country are tropical, although temperatures rarely reach 40°C. The average annual temperature increases steadily from south to north, but even on the equator, in the Amazon Basin, the average temperature is not more than 27°C. The highest recorded was 42°C, in the dry northeastern states. From the latitude of Recife south to Rio, the mean temperature is 23-27°C along the coast, and 18-21°C in the highlands. South of Rio, towards the boundary with Uruguay, the mean temperature is 17-19°C. Humidity is relatively high in Brazil, particularly along the coast. The luminosity is also very high, and sunglasses are advisable.

Festivals

Carnaval dates depend on the ecclesiastical calendar and so vary from year to year. The party begins on the Friday afternoon before Shrove Tuesday officially ending on Ash Wednesday and unofficially on the following Sunday. The festival takes place all over Brazil and not just in Rio. Ouro Preto and Paraty are smaller scale but equally lively alternatives to Rio. But carnival is not Rio de Janeiro’s biggest party – even more crowds come for New Year – cramming Copacabana to watch live music and fireworks erupting from the bay and cascading down the skyscrapers.

Brazil has festivals all year round with most concentrated in June and around Carnaval at the beginning of Lent. This list barely skims the surface.

Carnival dates

2017 23 February-1 March

2018 8-14 February

2019 28 February-6 March

January

Procissão de Nosso Senhor dos Navegantes, Salvador, Bahia. A big procession and a key event of the candomblé calendar.

Festa do Bonfim, see www.bahia-online.net/festas.

São Paulo fashion week, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The most important event on the Latin American fashion calendar attended by models and designers from all over the world. See www.spfw.com.br.

February

Festa de Yemanjá, Rio Vermelho, Salvador, Bahia. Dedicated to the candomblé orixá (spirit) of the sea and a great place to hear authentic live Bahian bands.

Pré-Caju, a pre-carnival carnival in Aracajú, Sergipe 15 days before Salvador carnival and with a similar vibe, though on a far smaller scale.

February/March

Carnaval, Brazil’s biggest festival takes place throughout the country and most famously in Rio’s sambódromo stadium.

For a wild street party head for Salvador; for something more authentic and traditional, Recife; and for a Brazilian crowd free of foreign tourists, try Cidade de Goiás or Ouro Preto, www.carnavalouropreto.com.

March

Chocofest, Canela, Serra Gaucha, Rio Grande do Sul. A pre-Easter chocolate-fest with parades.

April

Festa de Nossa Senhora da Penha, Vila Velha, Vitória, Espírito Santo. A series of spectacular processions celebrating the saint’s day of the city’s patron.

Festa do Açaí, Festa da Castanha and Festa do Cupuaçu, Codajás, Tefé and Presidente Figueiredo, Amazonas. Three festivals devoted to three of the best Amazonian foods: the açai energy berry, cupuaçu and the Brazil nut.

Cuiafolia, the biggest festival of the year in Mato Grosso. The capital, Cuiabá, erupts into a mock-Bahian carnival powered by cheesy Bahian axé acts.

June

Boi Bumba, Parintins, Amazonas. A huge spectacle re-enacting the Boi story, with two competing teams, enormous floats and troupes of dancers. On an island in the Amazon. See www.boibumba.com.

Bumba-Meu-Boi, São Luís, Maranhão.

Festas Juninas (Festas do São João), Campina Grande, Paraíba, Caruaru, Pernambuco and throughout Brazil. Brazil’s major winter festival when everyone dresses up as a yokel, drinks hot spiced wine and dances forró.

July

Anima Mundi, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. One of the largest animation festivals in the world; lasts two months. See www.animamundi.com.br.

Festa Literária Internacional de Paraty (FLIP), Paraty, Rio de Janeiro. The country’s premier literary festival attracting big names such as Salman Rushdie and Alice Walker. See www.flip.org.br.

Fortal, Brazil’s largest out of season carnival in Fortaleza powered mostly by Bahian music. See www.fortal.com.br.

August

Festa da Nossa Senhora D’Ajuda, Arraial d’Ajuda, Bahia. Festivals and processions celebrating the town’s patron saint.

Festival de Gramado, Gramado, Rio Grande do Sul. Latin America’s largest film festival. See www.festivaldegramado.net.

Festa do Peão de Boiadeiro, Barretos, São Paulo state. The biggest rodeo in the world, with a legion of Brazil’s cheesiest music stars and legions of cowboys riding bulls. See www.festadopeaodeamericana.com.br.

Festival de Inverno de Garanhuns, Pernambuco. One of the biggest quality music festivals in the northeast, with a big programme of shows by names such as Alceu Valenca and Elba Ramalho. See www.fig.com.br.

October

Carnoporto, Porto Seguro’s huge out-of-season carnival with all the top cheesy Bahian bands and big crowds. See www.axemoifolia.com.br.

Círio de Nazaré, Belém and throughout Pará and Amazonas states. One of the largest religious celebrations in Brazil. Huge crowds, long precessions and many live music and cultural events. See www.ciriodenazare.com.br. Oktoberfest, Blumenau, Santa Catarina. See box here.

Jogos dos Povos Indígenas, various locations. Indigenous people from throughout the country gather for the Brazilian equivalent of the Highland games, with wrestling, archery, javelin throwing and general celebrations. See www.jogosmundiaisindigenas.com.

November

Brazilian Grand Prix, São Paulo. See www.formula1.com.

31 December

Reveillon, New Year’s Eve. This is a huge party all over Brazil, and biggest of all on Copacabana beach in Rio. In São Paulo celebrations centre on the city’s main Avenida Paulista, which is lined with sound stages and packed with partygoers.

What

to do

from diving and surfing to whitewater rafting

Birdwatching

Almost a fifth of the world’s bird species are Brazilian. The country is home to some 1750 species, of which 218 are endemic, the highest number of any country in the world. Many of these endemics live in the Atlantic coastal rainforests, the largest chunks of which are in São Paulo state around Ubatuba, and in the south extending into neighbouring Paraná state. Brazil also has the largest number of globally threatened birds: 120 of 1212 worldwide. This is accounted for partly by the numbers of critically threatened habitats that include the Atlantic coastal rainforest, which recently lost the Alagoas currassow, the caatinga, which has lost Spix’s macaw, and the cerrado, which is being cut at an alarming rate to feed the demand for soya.

Compared to Costa Rica or Ecuador, birding in Brazil is in its infancy, but awareness is increasing and there are some excellent birding guides in Brazil. It is no longer necessary to organize a birding trip through an international company (though many choose to do so; see here for a list of international companies offering Brazilian birdwatching and wildlife tours). The best time for birding is September-October as it is quiet, relatively dry and flights are cheapest. Two comprehensive websites are www.worldtwitch.com and www.camacdonald.com.

The Rio region offers some of Brazil’s best birding, especially in the Serra dos Tucanos (www.serradostucanos.com.br), and at Reserva Ecológica de Guapi Assu (REGUA), both of which have expert guides, excellent facilities and extensive species lists. Edson Endrigo (www.avesfoto.com.br) offers guided trips into Itatiaia national park and in the rainforests of Rio’s coastal mountains. Birding Pal (www.birdingpal.org) connects birders to local enthusiasts and trip organizers. Ubatuba Birds (www.passarosdeubatuba.com.br) is a useful site, in Portuguese, with maps of where to see birds, what to see and a short selection of birder-friendly coastal hotels.

Caving

There are some wonderful cave systems in Brazil, and Ibama has a programme for the protection of the national speleological heritage. National parks such as Ubajara and Chapada Diamantina have easy access for the casual visitor, but there are also many options for the keen potholer in the states of Paraná, Minas Gerais and Brasília, as well as around Petar, three hours’ drive south of São Paulo.

ON THE ROAD

Ten of the best beaches

Ipanema-Leblon, Rio, see here.

Ilha Grande, Rio, see here.

Trindade, Rio, see here.

Florianópolis and the Ilha de Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina, see here.

Itacaré, Bahia, see here.

Trancoso, Bahia, see here.

Cacimba do Padre, Fernando de Noronha, see here.

Jericoacoara, Ceará, see here.

Pipa, Rio Grande do Norte, see here.

Alter do Chão, Pará, see here.

Organizing a trip under your own steam is difficult. Petar Online (www.petaronline.com.br) provides information on local guides, places to stay and transport. Brazil Tours (www.braziltourstravel.com) and SPin Tours (www.spintours.com.br) can organize trips. For more information, contact the Sociedade Brasileira de Espeleologia (www.sbe.com.br). For cave diving, see Diving, below.

Climbing and hill walking

As Brazil has no mountain ranges of Alpine or Andean proportions, the most popular form of escalada (climbing) is rock-face climbing.

Rio is one of the best cities anywhere for rock-climbing and hill walking. CEESC, Rio Hiking, Morro dos Dois Irmãos and a string of other companies can organize day hikes of varying degrees of difficulty as well as rock climbs up the Sugar Loaf or the Pedra da Gávea, the world’s largest coastal monolith; see here. The Serra dos Órgãos just outside the city is equally as spectacular and more challenging, not least the Dedo de Deus (God’s Finger), a pinnacle of sheer granite set in forest-swathed mountains. Contact www.ancoraue.com, www.climbinrio.com and www.rioadventures.com for more details.

In the state of São Paulo a good location for climbing is Pedra Bela near Salesópolis, 120 km from São Paulo city. Brotas is popular for abseiling (rappel). The São Paulo climbing club (www.climbing.com.br) and SPin Tours (www.spintours.com.br) can organize trips.

Cycling and mountain biking

Brazil is well suited to cycling, both on and off-road. On main roads, keep on the lookout for motor vehicles, as cyclists are very much treated as second-class citizens. Also note that when cycling on the northeastern coast you may encounter strong winds which will hamper your progress. There are endless roads and tracks suitable for mountain biking, and there are many clubs in major cities which organize group rides, activities and competitions.

Rio is now a decent place for cyclists, with a public bike rental scheme, cycle tracks linking Barra to the Copacabana via the beaches inaugurated in 2016 and a proliferation of pelotons practicing climbs on the hilly roads of Tijuca national park.

Bikes can be rented through Velobike (see here), through most hostels and through tour operators like Rio Connexions (see here) and Rio Hiking (see here).

Serra da Canastra in Minas Gerais is a popular area for mountain biking.

Any of the tour operators listed in São Paulo city (see here) can organize cycling trips given a few weeks’ notice, including on the old São Paulo to Santos road which cuts through the heart of the rainforest in a spectacular descent to the coast. For further information contact the São Paulo Cycling Federation (www.fpciclismo.org.br).

Diving and snorkelling

The archipelago of Fernando de Noronha Marine National Park, some 350 km off the coast of Brazil, has coral gardens, drop-offs and wrecks which include a 50-m Brazilian navy destroyer with full armament. Visibility is up to 50 m, with both current-free and drift diving. Divers can expect to see at least two species of turtle, spinner dolphins, more than three species of shark, huge snapper and vast shoals of goatfish and jack.

The Abrolhos archipelago off the coast of Bahia state in northeast Brazil offers diving of similar quality, with huge brain corals and, in the Brazilian summer, hump-back whale sightings are pretty much guaranteed.

Arraial de Cabo east of Rio de Janeiro is interesting because of the meeting of a southerly cold and northerly warm current and has the best marine life in southeast Brazil. The water around Rio is cool, and while there are no coral reefs, the rocks around the islands near Angra and the pinnacles around Cabo Frio offer decent diving, although species diversity is low compared to Belize or the Caribbean. CEESC (see here) can organize snorkelling trips, while Rio Adventures (www.rioadventures.com) can arrange scuba dives.

In São Paulo state, any of the Ilhabela pousadas can offer scuba diving around the island, which has many wrecks. Colonial Diver (www.colonialdiver.com.br) is a reliable local dive shop.

Cave diving can be practised in many of the 200 underwater grottoes such as Bonito, Mato Grosso do Sul, Lapa de São Jorge, 280 km from Brasília, in Chapada Diamantina and Vale do Ribeira located between São Paulo and Paraná.

Fishing

Brazil is great for sport fishing. Officially, the country’s fish stocks are under the control of Ibama (www.ibama.org.br) and a licence is required for fishing in any waters. As states often require permits too it is easiest to organize a trip through an agency. The best areas are the Amazon and Pantanal and the Rio Araguaia. Be aware that many Brazilians do not keep best practice and that rivers are quickly becoming over-fished, especially in the Pantanal, a threat to the world’s largest wetland and a unique American biome.

Hang-gliding and paragliding

There are state associations affiliated with Associação Brasileira de Vôo Livre (ABVL, T021-3322 0266, www.abvl.com.br), or Brazilian Hang-gliding Association, the national umbrella organization for hang-gliding and paragliding associations. A number of operators offer tandem flights for those without experience. Rampas (launch sites) are growing in number. The best known and most spectacular is Pedra Bonita in Gávea in Rio de Janeiro city, and there are others in the state. See here for a full list of operators. Popular rampas can be found in São Paulo state, especially in the Serra do Mar along the coast and in the agricultural interior.

ON THE ROAD

Brazil’s World Cup tragedies

Brazilians love football like Indians love cricket and seeing a match live is an unforgettable experience. The crowd is a sea of waving banners and the noise from the jeers and cheers, drums and whistles is deafening. Football in Brazil is treated with religious reverence. Work is put on hold during an important game. And the country quite literally closes for business during a FIFA World Cup™.

Once Brazilians were certain that they were and would always be the best in the world at the sport. That has changed in the last few years, after the national team failed dismally in the 2014 FIFA World Cup™, which returned to Brazil after a 64-year absence. Brazil played poorly in the opening rounds but nonetheless made it through to the semi-final undefeated where they faced Germany. The crowd began jauntily, waving flags, blowing whistles and full of enthusiasm born of the inevitability of Brazilian victory. They were soon stunned into silence as Germany slipped four goals past the team in just six minutes, going on to thrash Brazil 7-1 – the largest ever margin of victory in a World Cup semi-final.

The night of horror has since been christened the Mineirazo after the Mineirao stadium where the game was played, and echoing the Maracanazo, a national football tragedy which had occurred the previous time Brazil staged the tournament in 1950. On that occasion the team had stormed through the competition. Before they had even played in the final they were already being hailed as the world champions. The fans were smug, treating the Uruguayan opponents with a mixture of derision and pity and the front pages of the daily paper O Mundo printed an early edition of their final evening run showing a photograph of the Brazilian team with the caption These are the world champions. The Uruguayans were furious. Their captain, Obdulio Varela, bought as many copies of the paper as he could, laid them on his bathroom floor and encouraged his teammates to urinate on them. They players went into the game bent on revenge, played their football socks off and defeated Brazil 2-1. Stripped of a title they had already considered theirs, the fans’ silence was, in the words of FIFA chairman, Jules Rimet, morbid and sometimes too difficult to bear.

The loss became known as the Maracanazo (after the Maracanã stadium in Rio where the match was held), a word which has become shorthand for any tragedy in Brazil ever since. To see a game in Rio, see Maracanã stadium, see here.

Guia 4 Ventos Brasil (www.guia4ventos.com.br) has a full list of launch sites (and much else besides).

Horse riding

The Pantanal offers some of the best horse riding in Brazil. Almost all the lodges we list offer treks into the wetlands, of anything from a few hours to a few days. There are good horse trails in Minas Gerais along the routes that used to be taken by the mule trains which transported goods between the coast and the interior.

Motorbike tours

Rio has a traffic problem and car-based tours operating over the rush hours (usually 0700-0930 and 1730-2000) can involve delays in jams. Motorbike tours – where passengers ride pillion – avoid these and can be organized through CEESC (see here).

Surfing

There are good conditions all along the coast. Brazilians love to surf and are well-represented in international competitions, which are frequently held on the beaches near Itacaré in Bahia and on Fernando de Noronha island. Other popular locations include Niterói, Cabo Frio and around, Rio, Ilha Grande, Florianópolis and Ilha de Santa Catarina. Many tour companies offer surf trips or lessons and you can find a selection listed on here.

Rio’s best surf breaks are as follows: Arpoador Breaks next to the rocks, gets good, the beach is illuminated making night surfing possible. Barra da Guaratiba Rivermouth, perfect and powerful waves in the right conditions. Barra da Tijuca 18-km beach with sand banks, closes out when big. Copacabana Posto 5, needs a big swell and the water can be dirty. Grumari 1-7 feet. Ipanema Hollow, not much shape, 1-5 feet. Leblon Hollow next to the breakwater, 1-5 feet. Quebra Mar Next to the breakwater, hollow in the right conditions, 1-7 feet. Pepino (São Conrado) Sometimes a good hollow left can break next to the rocks on the left side of the beach. Hang gliders land here, 1-6 feet. Prainha Wild and good, 1-8 feet. Recreio dos Bandeirantes Breaks by a rock a few metres from shore, on both sides and in different directions; can handle some size when other spots close out, 2-8 feet. There is also good surfing on Itacoatiara beach in Niterói, Ilha Grande and around Trindade near Paraty – though you will need your own board to surf here.

Good surf beaches in São Paulo state include Ubatuba, Camburi and Praia Brava. Zecão (see here) runs surf courses from beginner to intermediate based in Ubatuba.

Fluir (www.fluir.com.br) the country’s biggest surf magazine, has information in Portuguese. Or see www.brazilsurftravel.com (in English).

Whitewater rafting

Whitewater rafting started in Brazil in 1992. Tour companies listed in the text under locations like Foz de Iguaçu offer trips in the southeast. There is also good whitewater rafting in the remote Jalapão chapada lands with Korubo Expeditions (www.korubo.com.br), who are recommended.

Whitewater rafting is popular around Rio in Casmimiro de Abreu, some two hours from the city, meaning a rafting trip will take a full day. The river is 80 km long with a rafting course of 8 km and a rafting experience of about two hours. Rapids range from level 1 to 5 in summer, 1 to 4 in spring, 1 to 3 in autumn and 1 to 2 in winter. See here for tour companies in Rio offering rafting.

ON THE ROAD

Brazil’s World Heritage Sites

Cultural

Ouro Preto (1980), exquisite Portuguese churches and streets of houses rolling over cobble-covered hills ( see here).

Historic Centre of Olinda (1982), lively culture, raucous carnival and lavish colonial buildings ( see here).

Jesuit Missions (1983), crumbling ruins where indigenous peoples and warrior priests fought a last stand ( see here).

Historic Centre of Salvador de Bahia (1985), colonial splendour and African-Brazilian culture ( see here).

Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Congonhas (1985), some of the finest baroque carving in the world ( see here).

Brasilia (1987), space-age modernist architecture ( see here).

Serra da Capivara (1991), canyons and wild hills preserving perhaps the oldest art in the Americas ( see here).

Historic Centre of São Luís (1997), the best-preserved Portuguese city in the Americas ( see here).

Diamantina (1999), colonial jewel nestled in rugged hills ( see here).

Cidade de Goiás (2001), pretty, timeless and barely visited by tourists ( see here).

São Francisco Square in São Cristóvão (2010), a perfectly preserved Renaissance American village ( see here).

Rio de Janeiro historic landscape (2012), from the baroque splendour of São Bento to Christ on Corcovado mountain ( see here).

Natural

Iguaçu (1986), the most spectacular waterfall on Earth, set in a vast forested national park ( see here).

Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves (1999), with the highest endemic biodiversity in South America ( see here).

Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves (1999), tropical beaches, rainforest and harpy eagle nests ( see here).

Central Amazon Conservation Complex (2000), the largest area of protected tropical forest on Earth ( see here).

Pantanal Conservation Area (2000), the world’s largest wetlands and the best place in Brazil for wildlife ( see here).

Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas (2001), Brazil’s most threatened habitat, the stunning cerrado (see here and here).

Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas islands (2001), coral reefs and pearly beaches ( see here).

Wind and kitesurfing

There’s no better place in the Americas for wind and kitesurfing than Brazil. The northeast coast receives an almost constant wind for pretty much 365 days of the year and, in the last five years, beach towns like Cumbuco and Jericoacoara in Ceará have turned from small resorts into world wind and kitesurf capitals. There is good wind and kitesurfing around Rio too, especially to the east near Cabo Frio and in the city itself. Santa Catarina island has several popular windsurfing beaches, while the coast along the Linha Verde is ideal for windsurfing, owing to constant fresh Atlantic breezes.

Shopping tips

Arts and crafts

Brazil does not offer the variety and quality of arts and crafts you’ll find in the Andes. However, good buys include: beautiful bead jewellery and bags made from Amazon seeds; clay figurines from the northeast, especially from Pernambuco; lace from Ceará; leatherwork, Marajó pottery and fabric hammocks from Amazônia (be sure to buy hooks – ganchos para rede – for hanging your hammock at home); carvings in soapstone and in bone; capim-dourado gold-grass bags and jewellery from Tocantins; and African-type pottery, basketwork and candomblé artefacts from Bahia. Brazilian cigars are excellent for those who like mild flavours.

These items can be found in shops around Rio, including in the Feira do São Cristóvão, the Hippie Market and in Saara (see here, here and here). The best shopping in Rio itself is higher end: fashion, home decor and arty souvenirs. Shop in the MAM store Novo Desenho (ND) (see here) for home decor and knickknacks, in Ipanema for fashion – especially beach wear (see here) and the galleries of Santa Teresa and the Hippie Market in Ipanema for arty knick-knacks (see here).

Cosmetics and herbal remedies

For those who know how to use them, medicinal herbs, barks and spices can be bought from street markets and in Rio’s Feira do São Cristóvão. Coconut oil and local skin and haircare products (including fantastic conditioners and herbal hair dyes) are as good though far and cheaper than in Europe. Natura and O Boticário are excellent local brands, similar in quality to the Body Shop. There are branches in Rio’s shopping malls.

Fashion

Brazil has long eclipsed Argentina as the fashion capital of Latin America. Brazilian cuts, colours and contours are fresh and daring by US and European standards. Quality and variety is very high, from gorgeous bags and bikinis to designer dresses, shoes and denims.

In Rio, Ipanema is the place to go for high-end shopping, as well as the São Conrado Fashion Mall and Shopping Leblon. São Paulo is the epicentre of the industry, with the best labels and the widest choice. Outside the US there is simply nowhere better to fashion shop in the Americas and if you love your clothes, dedicate some money and time to exploring what’s on offer. In São Paulo city the best area for fashion shopping is Jardins (around Rua Oscar Freire); the three big high-end malls, Iguatemi on Avenida Faria Lima, Shopping Cidade Jardim in Morumbi and Shopping JK in Itaim. Labels to look out for include Dorothy Campolongo, Cris Barros, Adriana Barra, Herchcovitch, Amir Slama, Carina Duek and Carlos Miele. The city has a string of mid-range quality clothing brands, comparable to GAP or Jigsaw, with branches in most malls (the aforementioned three being a few of many). They include Zoomp, Sidewalk, Hering, Forum and Iodice, Bargain fashion – featuring Brazilian and international styles – is available in bewildering array on Rua 25 Março near the centre. Dedicated shoppers should consider hiring a personal shopper like Ale Ribeiro (see here) – if only for the huge discounts they can offer.

Jewellery

Gold, diamonds and gemstones are good buys and there are innovative designs in jewellery. For something special and high quality, buy at reputable dealers such as H Stern or Antonio Bernado in Ipanema, Rio. Cheap, fun pieces can be bought from street traders. There are interesting furnishings made with gemstones and marble – some of them rather cheesy – and huge slabs of amethyst, quartz and crystal at a fraction of a New Age shop price. More interesting and unusual is the seed and bead jewellery, much of it made with uniquely Brazilian natural products, and based on original indigenous designs.

Music and instruments

Music is as ubiquitous as sunlight in Rio and browsing through a CD shop anywhere will be sure to result in at least one purchase.

Musical instruments are a good buy, particularly Brazilian percussion items. For example: the berimbau, a bow with a gourd sound-bell used in candomblé; the cuica friction drum, which produces the characteristic squeaks and chirrups heard in samba; assorted hand drums including the surdo (the big samba bass drum); and the caixa, tambor, repinique and timbale (drums that produce the characteristic Brazilian ra-ta-ta-ta-ta). The most Brazilian of hand drums is the tambourine, a misnomer for the pandeiro (which comes with bells), as opposed to the tamborim (which comes without). There are many unusual stringed instruments too: the rabeca (desert fiddle), the cavaquinho or cavaco (the Portuguese ancestor of ukulele), the bandolim (Brazilian mandolin), with its characteristic pear shape, and many excellent nylon-strung guitars. You can buy these in Rio’s Feira do São Cristóvão.

Then there’s Brazilian music itself. Only a fraction of the best CDs reach Europe or the USA. In Rio browse the selection in Bossa Nova e Companhia (see here) or Toca do Vinicius (see here) for a wonderful choice of samba, bossa nova and contemporary Rio samba funk and alternative music. In São Paulo city, FNAC on Avenida Paulista is a good place to look.

ON THE ROAD

Improve your travel photography

Taking pictures is a highlight for many travellers, yet too often the results turn out to be disappointing. Steve Davey, author of Footprint’s Travel Photography, sets out his top rules for coming home with pictures you can be proud of.

Before you go

Don’t waste precious travelling time and do your research before you leave. Find out what festivals or events might be happening or which day the weekly market takes place, and search online image sites such as Flickr to see whether places are best shot at the beginning or end of the day, and what vantage points you should consider.

Get up early

The quality of the light will be better in the few hours after sunrise and again before sunset – especially in the tropics when the sun will be harsh and unforgiving in the middle of the day. Sometimes seeing the sunrise is a part of the whole travel experience: sleep in and you will miss more than just photographs.

Stop and think

Don’t just click away without any thought. Pause for a few seconds before raising the camera and ask yourself what you are trying to show with your photograph. Think about what things you need to include in the frame to convey this meaning. Be prepared to move around your subject to get the best angle. Knowing the point of your picture is the first step to making sure that the person looking at the picture will know it too.

Compose your picture

Avoid simply dumping your subject in the centre of the frame every time you take a picture. If you compose with it to one side, then your picture can look more balanced. This will also allow you to show a significant background and make the picture more meaningful.

A good rule of thumb is to place your subject or any significant detail a third of the way into the frame; facing into the frame not out of it.

This rule also works for landscapes. Compose with the horizon two-thirds of the way up the frame if the foreground is the most interesting part of the picture; one-third of the way up if the sky is more striking.

Don’t get hung up with this so-called Rule of Thirds, though. Exaggerate it by pushing your subject out to the edge of the frame if it makes a more interesting picture; or if the sky is dull in a landscape, try cropping with the horizon near the very top of the frame.

Fill the frame

If you are going to focus on a detail or even a person’s face in a close-up portrait, then be bold and make sure that you fill the frame. This is often a case of physically getting in close. You can use a telephoto setting on a zoom lens but this can lead to pictures looking quite flat; moving in close is a lot more fun!

Interact with people

If you want to shoot evocative portraits then it is vital to approach people and seek permission in some way, even if it is just by smiling at someone. Spend a little time with them and they are likely to relax and look less stiff and formal. Action portraits where people are doing something, or environmental portraits, where they are set against a significant background, are a good way to achieve relaxed portraits. Interacting is a good way to find out more about people and their lives, creating memories as well as photographs.

Focus carefully

Your camera can focus quicker than you, but it doesn’t know which part of the picture you want to be in focus. If your camera is using the centre focus sensor then move the camera so it is over the subject and half press the button, then, holding it down, recompose the picture. This will lock the focus. Take the now correctly focused picture when you are ready.

Another technique for accurate focusing is to move the active sensor over your subject. Some cameras with touch-sensitive screens allow you to do this by simply clicking on the subject.

Leave light in the sky

Most good night photography is actually taken at dusk when there is some light and colour left in the sky; any lit portions of the picture will balance with the sky and any ambient lighting. There is only a very small window when this will happen, so get into position early, be prepared and keep shooting and reviewing the results. You can take pictures after this time, but avoid shots of tall towers in an inky black sky; crop in close on lit areas to fill the frame.

Bring it home safely

Digital images are inherently ephemeral: they can be deleted or corrupted in a heartbeat. The good news though is they can be copied just as easily. Wherever you travel, you should have a backup strategy. Cloud backups are popular, but make sure that you will have access to fast enough Wi-Fi. If you use RAW format, then you will need some sort of physical back-up. If you don’t travel with a laptop or tablet, then you can buy a backup drive that will copy directly from memory cards.

Recently updated and available in both digital and print formats, Footprint’s Travel Photography by Steve Davey covers everything you need to know about travelling with a camera, including simple post-processing. More information is available at www.footprinttravelguides.com

Where

to stay

from pensões to pousadas

There is a good range of accommodation options in Brazil. An albergue or hostel offers the cheapest option. These have dormitory beds and single and double rooms. Many are part of Hostelling International (HI) www.hihostels.com; Hostel World www.hostelworld.com, Hostel Bookers www.hostelbookers.com, and Hostel.com www.hostel.com, are all useful portals. Hostel Trail Latin America T0131-208 0007 (UK), www.hosteltrail.com, managed from their hostel in Popayan, is an online network of hotels and tour companies in South America. A pensão is either a cheap guesthouse or a household that rents out some rooms. Favela Experience www.favelaexperience.com, organizes stays in favelas in Rio.

Pousadas

A pousada is either a bed-and-breakfast, often small and family-run, or a sophisticated and often charming small hotel. A hotel is as it is anywhere else in the world, operating according to the international star system, although five-star hotels are not price controlled and hotels in any category are not always of the standard of their star equivalent in the USA, Canada or Europe. Many of the older hotels can be cheaper than hostels. Usually accommodation prices include a breakfast of rolls, ham, cheese, cakes and fruit with coffee and juice; there is no reduction if you don’t eat it. Rooms vary too. Normally an apartamento is a room with separate living and sleeping areas and sometimes cooking facilities.

Price codes

Where to stay

$$$$ over US$150

$$$ US$66-150

$$ US$30-65

$under US$30

Price of a double room in high season, including taxes.

Restaurants

$$$ over US$12

$$ US$7-12

$US$6 and under

Prices for a two-course meal for one person, excluding drinks or service charge.

A quarto is a standard room; com banheiro is en suite; and sem banheiro is with shared bathroom. Finally there are the motels. These should not be confused with their US counterpart: motels are used by guests not intending to sleep; there is no stigma attached and they usually offer good value (the rate for a full night is called the ‘pernoite’), however the decor can be a little garish.

Hidden Pousadas Brazil www.hiddenpousadasbrazil.com, offers a range of the best pousadas.

Tip...

Be sure to book hotels in advance over the busy Carnival, New Year and July Brazilian school holiday periods.

Luxury accommodation

Much of the best private accommodation sector can be booked through operators. Angatu www.angatu.com, offers the best private homes along the Costa Verde, together with bespoke trips. Matuete www.matuete.com, has a range of luxurious properties and tours throughout Brazil.

Camping

Those with an international camping card pay only half the rate of a non-member at Camping Clube do Brasil www.campingclube.com.br. Membership of the club itself is expensive: US$70 for six months. The club has 43 sites in 13 states and 80,000 members. It may be difficult to get into some Camping Clube campsites during high season (January to February). Private campsites charge about US$6-8 per person. For those on a very low budget and in isolated areas where there is no campsite available, it’s usually possible to stay at service stations. They have shower facilities, watchmen and food; some have dormitories. There are also various municipal sites. Campsites tend to be some distance from public transport routes and are better suited to people with their own car. Wild camping is generally difficult and dangerous. Never camp at the side of a road; this is very risky.

Homestays

Staying with a local family is an excellent way to become integrated quickly into a city and companies try to match guests to their hosts. Cama e Café www.camaecafe.com.br, organizes homestays in Rio de Janeiro, Olinda and a number of other cities around Brazil. Couch surfing www.couchsurfing.com, offers a free, backpacker alternative.

Quality hotel associations

The better international hotel associations have members in Brazil. These include: Small Luxury Hotels of the World www.slh.com; the Leading Hotels of the World www.lhw.com; the Leading Small Hotels of the World www.leadingsmallhotelsoftheworld.com; Great Small Hotels www.greatsmallhotels.com; and the French group Relais et Chateaux www.relaischateaux.com, which also includes restaurants.

The Brazilian equivalent of these associations are Hidden Pousadas Brazil www.hiddenpousadasbrazil.com, and their associate, the Roteiros de Charme www.roteirosdecharme.com.br. Membership of these groups pretty much guarantees quality, but it is by no means comprehensive.

Online travel agencies (OTAs)

Services like www.tripadvisor.com and OTAs associated with them, such as www.hotels.com, www.expedia.com and www.venere.com, are well worth using for both reviews and for booking ahead. Hotels booked through an OTA can be up to 50% cheaper than the rack rate. Similar sites operate for hostels (though discounts are far less considerable). They include the Hostelling International site, www.hihostels.com, www.hostelbookers.com, www.hostels.com and www.hostelworld.com.

Food

& drink

from a chope with churrasco to a pinga with pesticos

Food

While Brazil has some of the best fine dining restaurants in Latin America and cooking has greatly improved over the last decade, everyday Brazilian cuisine can be stolid. Mains are generally heavy, meaty and unspiced. Desserts are often very sweet. In Rio, a heady mix of international immigrants has resulted in some unusual fusion cooking and exquisite variations on French, Japanese, Portuguese, Arabic and Italian traditional techniques and dishes and the regional cooking can be a delight. The Brazilian staple meal generally consists of a cut of fried or barbecued meat, chicken or fish accompanied by rice, black or South American broad beans and an unseasoned salad of lettuce, grated carrot, tomato and beetroot. Condiments consist of weak chilli sauce, olive oil, salt and pepper and vinegar.

The national dish – which is associated with Rio – is a heavy campfire stew called feijoada, made by throwing jerked beef, smoked sausage, tongue and salt pork into a pot with lots of fat and beans and stewing it for hours. The resulting stew is sprinkled with fried farofa (manioc flour) and served with couve (kale) and slices of orange. The meal is washed down with cachaça (sugar cane rum). Most restaurants serve the feijoada completa for Saturday lunch (up until about 1630). Come with a very empty stomach.

Brazil’s other national dish is mixed grilled meat or churrasco, served in vast portions off the spit by legions of rushing waiters, and accompanied by a buffet of salads, beans and mashed vegetables. Churrascos are served in churrascarias or rodízios. The meat is generally excellent, especially in the best churascarias, and the portions are unlimited, offering good value for camel-stomached carnivores able to eat one meal a day.

In remembrance of Portugal, but bizarrely for a tropical country replete with fish, Brazil is also the world’s largest consumer of cod, pulled from the cold north Atlantic, salted and served in watery slabs or little balls as bacalhau (an appetizer/bar snack) or petisco. Other national petiscos include kibe (a deep-fried or baked mince with onion, mint and flour), coxinha (deep-fried chicken or meat in dough), empadas (baked puff-pastry patties with prawns, chicken, heart of palm or meat), and tortas (little pies with the same ingredients). When served in bakeries, padarias or snack bars these are collectively referred to as salgadinhos (savouries).

The best cooking in Brazil is not national but regional. Bahia offers an African-infused, welcome break from meat, rice and beans further south, with a variety of seafood dishes. Unlike most Brazilians, Bahians have discovered sauces, pepper and chilli. The most famous Bahian dish is moqueca (fresh fish cooked slowly with prawns in dendê palm oil, coconut milk, garlic, tomatoes, cilantro and chili pepper). A variety served in Espírito Santo, the state south of Bahia, is seasoned with blood-red urucum berry and served in a clay pot. Other Bahian dishes include vatapá and caruaru (pastes made from prawns, nuts, bread, coconut milk and dendê (palm) oil), xinxim de galinha (a rich, spicy chicken stew, best without dendê oil), and acarajé (black-eyed peas or beans squashed into a ball, deep-fried in dendê oil and served split in half, stuffed with vatapá or caruaru and seasoned with chilli). Minas Gerais and Goiás are famous for their buffets of stews served over a wood-fired stove and made from a variety of meats and cerrado fruits and vegetables like the pequi, which is sucked and never bitten; its flesh covers thousands of tiny, razor sharp spines. Minas specialities include tutu á mineira made with bacon, egg, refried beans in a paste, and feijão tropeiro, herb-infused beans served with farofa. A watery, white soft and almost entirely flavourless cheese, queijo minas is often served for dessert with ultra-sweet guava paste. Some of the most interesting cooking comes from the Amazon. The river fish here are delicious, especially the firm flesh of the pacu and tambaqui. The piracururu is an endangered species and should only be eaten where it is farmed or fished sustainably, from reserves such as Mamirauá (see here). The most celebrated regional dish in the Amazon is tacacá no tucupi (prawn broth cooked in manioc juice and jambu leaf). The soup is infused with an alkaloid from the jambu that numbs the mouth and produces an energetic rush to the head. There are myriad unusual, delicious fruits in the Amazon and Brazil as