Holidays in Brazil
Beach Holiday Brazil - When you plan to travel/spend your holiday in
Brazil, your preferable travel destination(s) might depend very much on
your favourite activities.
Holidays in Brazil
a) Just beach holiday
Even
if there are many beautiful beaches in different places of the world,
which is why this should not necessarily be the main reason to visit
this country, following a short description of the three main beach
types to be found along Brazil's 8.000 km coast line:
Endless
flat coconut palm beaches with and without dunes, partly with offshore
reefs and coloured sandy cliffs, so - called falesias, in the northeast.
Charming deserted and semideserted beaches with little bays enclosed by
rainforest covered mountains of the Serra do Mar mountain chain, in the
southeast (my personal favourite).
Rio Grande do Sul in South
Brazil seems to have one endless flat rectilinear beach from north to
south, with dunes but without coconut palm trees and reefs. It reminds a
little the Netherlands / European Atlantic coast beaches.
Of
outstanding beauty are the Lençois Maranhenses National Park in
Maranhao, the coastal part of the Southeast Reserves (Sao Paulo /
Parana) and Discovery Coast World Heritage Sites (South Bahia) such as
the bird paradise Lagoa dos Patos National Park (Rio Grande do Sul).
b) Outdoor activities
For
outdoor activities, particularly walking / hiking / trekking /
climbing, mountain biking and kayaking, definitely the Atlantic
Rainforest should be your choice. It offers countless historical trails,
beautiful deserted and semi-deserted beaches, mangrove and restinga
vegetation, rainforest covered mountains of up to 3.000 height meters
(Mar /Mantiqueira range), charming rivers, waterfalls and pools,
traditional communities and some colonial towns. Additionally, it is
easy to access via the Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro international
airport.
c) Speleology
There are many cave areas in Brazil
but in combination with rainforest, the Speleological Province Upper
Ribeira / Paranapiacaba (Sao Paulo State), with its fantastic karst
landscape and hundreds of limestone caves, is unique. Recommendation:
Intervales and PETAR State Park.
d) Diving
Brazil has no
Great Barrier Reef and is not a famous diving spot. However, the
Fernando de Noronha island in Pernambuco and the dozens of shipwrecks
around Ilhabela (Sao Paulo), might be worth a visit.
e) Wildlife Viewing
When
you can stand the heat and the mosquitoes, the Pantanal is the place to
be in order to watch, photograph and film animals in their natural
habitat. Especially the dry season (winter) is highly recommend, because
the flooded areas shrink and the animals have to come out of their
shelter in order to access the water. For that purpose, don´t go to the
Amazon, you probably will be disappointed. A biologist, who participated
in a 7 day rainforest expedition to Pico da Neblina, once told me that
he did not see one animal during the whole hike.
For
birdwatching, visit the Intervales State park, where you easily can
observe a different bird species about every 15 minutes.
The archipelago of Abrolhos is great place for whale watching during season.
When you are in Sao Paulo, Cantareira State Park is an excellent option
to see free living monkeys, especially howler monkeys (Alouatta
guariba).
f) Culture and History
Brazil, for sure is a
great nature / eco destination but I think it is fair to say that if you
come from a culturally rich continent, such as Europe, Brazil, with its
young history, in terms of cultural attractions, cannot quite compare.
However, the baroque colonial buildings and churches that date back to
Brazil´s gold cycle, might be worth a visit. An interesting alternative
to combine culture and history with exceptional natural beauty is a
visit to the Discovery Coast World Heritage Site in South Bahia or to
follow the former gold route (Estrada Real) from the mining areas in
Ouro Preto / Diamantinha (Minas Gerais) to the port in Paraty. The
Lagamar Complex (Sao Paulo / Parana) offers prehistoric sambaquis,
traditional fishing communities (caicaras) and further inland,
descendants of African slaves, so - called quilombolas.
g) Others
Apart
from Trindade / Martim Vaz, with difficult and limited access, Fernando
de Noronha is Brazil's most beautiful island. If mass tourism isn't a
problem for you and size matters, there is nothing that compares to the
waterfalls of Foz de Iguaçu (1 day is enough). Hang and paragliding is
possible at the National Monument Pontoes Capixabas in Espirito Santo
where you can also find Brazil's most spectacular rock formations. To
decide between the carnival in Rio de Janeiro and the carnival in
Cologne might be a hard choice but New Year's Eve at Copacabana is
unsurpassable. If you are in Sao Paulo and don't pretend to visit
Argentine, don´t forget to include a diner at a typical churrasco /
rodizio restaurant.
