“This is Brazil!” Like its people, Brazil’s music, culture, and cuisine draw deeply from Portuguese, African, and indigenous influences. Brazilians know how to celebrate as shown by their love of samba, dance, and rhythm. Likewise, their gracefulness on the football pitch popularized the term “the Beautiful Game.”  The scenery is also diverse. Sixty percent of the Amazon rainforest is in Brazil. 

Adventures | Must Sees: Rio | Must Sees: Iguaçu | Must Sees: Manaus | Must Sees: São Paulo | Food

ADVENTURES

Iguaçu Boat Ride

Take a thrilling and splashing boat ride underneath Iguaçu Falls

Water Taxi to Praia da Lua

Catch a water taxi to a hidden beach on the Amazon River

MUST SEES: RIO DE JANEIRO

Copacabana

Rio’s famous beaches all seem to have songs named after them. This crescent beach has food and drink kiosks as well as outdoor gyms.

Ipanema

Cariocas flock to this beach for its perfect combination of expansive spaces, fine sand, leafy streets, and magnificent views.

Cristo Redentor

High atop Corcovado peak, Christ the Redeemer’s outstretched arms welcome you to Rio. He even has a heart on his chest. The 360-degree view of Rio is breathtaking. The mountains in Rio all have this distinctive stretched out camel hump look.

Escadaria Selarón

Jorge Selarón spent his life covering a 250-step staircase in over 2,000 tiles from around the world. The tiles illustrate life in the favelas. His artistic masterpiece was his tribute to the Brazilian people.

Pão de Açúcar

This mountain resembles the shape of a sugarloaf. At Urca station, line up for the cable car. The first car goes to an intermediary mountain. The next car takes you to the top of Sugarloaf, which looks like the lair of a James Bond villain.

Lapa

Lapa Arches, once brought water from the Carioca River to Rio. The white arches now hold up a trolley.

Parque Nacional da Tijuca

Tijuca is a tropical rainforest in the middle of Rio. There are squirrel monkeys with bushy tufts of white hair – just like your grandpa.

MUST SEES: IGUAÇU FALLS

Iguaçu from Above

From the air, a chocolate milk river drops into a hole in the green rainforest. The Iguaçu River tumbles over the 1.7-mile edge of the Paraná Plateau at 269 feet. The 275 falls span across Brazil to the east and Argentina to the west.

Garganta do Diabo

The Devil’s Throat looks like a U and drains half of the river. At the end of the trail is a circular platform by the edge of one of the falls. It’s exhilarating to stand by the waterfall as it hits you with its cold violent spray.

Macuco Boat Ride

After a train ride through the rainforest, you walk to the river’s edge. The boat cruises to the border so you can see the falls on the Argentine side. The boat then takes you below the Brazilian cascades. Getting soaked is the highlight of the ride!

Coati

Coatis have slender noses like anteaters and bushy ringtails like raccoons. You’ll see them along the misty trail climbing up and down trees. There are also butterflies of varying colors like red, orange, and blue.

MUST SEES: MANAUS

Amazon

More than one-third of the world’s species live in the rainforest. There are plants with amazing properties unknown to the wider world. Manaus is located at the confluence of the black and gold waters of the Negro and Solimões rivers. 

Ponta Negra Beach

You can swim in the murky Amazon River. There are snack stands along the back of the beach. Volleyball and foot volleyball is popular at this beach. You might even hear a giant speaker pounding massive beats.

Teatro Amazonas

The giant pink opera house has a giant dome decorated in the colors of the Brazilian flag. The grand plaza at the center of Manaus is a popular gathering spot for locals. They built the building using the riches from the Amazon Rubber Boom in the 1800s.

Praia da Lua

You can take a water taxi from Marina do Davi to this isolated beach. The river is a couple miles wide with thick vegetation and trees on each side. The beach is small and isolated with a sandy ridge above it. At the end is a bar right on the water’s edge.

Wavy Tiles at Praça São Sebastião

The Portuguese paved their world and colonies wherever they went. Pavers apply Portuguese cobblestone pavement, known as calçada portuguesa, by hand. The black and white sea wave patterns glorify the Age of Exploration. 

MUST SEES: SÃO PAULO

Beco do Batman

Beco do Batman is a colorful explosion of artistry and creativity. These are streets and alleys depicting otherworldly realms and characters of such vibrant imagination. This is a stark contrast to walls throughout the city marred by angry chicken-scratch letters. 

Parque Ibirapuera

Oscar Niemeyer conceived Parque Ibirapuera as a futuristic space with white, spaceship domed buildings and red-tongued museums. There are also giant banyan trees and black swans.

Museu do Futebol

The museum contains treasures celebrating the glory of football in Brazil. You can watch videos of the best Brazilian goals ever scored. My favorite scene is of Pele. He traps the ball with his chest and shoots the ball as it falls in mid-air to his foot.

FOOD

Churrasco

At a churrascaria, the waiters walk around to each table and carve off slices of grilled meat onto your plate. They bring practically every cut of meat. The best one is picanha, a cut of sirloin that is so tender and flavorful.

Moqueca

Moqueca is a fish stew with various kinds of fish, seafood, coconut milk, tomatoes, onions, garlic, cilantro, and palm oil. You eat it with rice and farofa.

Tacacá

Tacacá is an Amazonian broth containing cassava starch, dried shrimps, and jambú. The jambú is a spicy watercress green that numbs your mouth.

Coxinha

Fried pastries filled with assorted meats, salt cod, and cheese are ubiquitous in Brazil. Coxinhas are conical pastries with chicken.

Caipirinha

Caipirinhas are a mix of cachaça, sugar, and lime. Cachaça is a sugarcane liqueur. You add sugar cubes to the drink and mash it up with a spoon.

Açaí

The açaí berry is a superfood from the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. You mix açaí powder into smoothies. It tastes like blackberry and chocolate. Açaí is pronounced ah-sigh-ee.

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