Languages: Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Population: 172,860,370
Religion: 89 % Roman Catholic; 6 % Protestant; 5 % other
Capital: Brasilia
Major Cities: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Salavador
Currency: 1 real (R$) = 100 centavos
Duty Free: International

LINKS TO:CLIMATE, THINGS TO DO, RECOMMENDED READING, COST, HOTELS, VISAS & INNCOCULATIONS, USEFUL PHRASES

Brazil is the largest country in South America, occupying nearly 50% of the South American Continent. It is a country where the past and future collide; where cows can be seen wandering across the highways, and where TV's can be heard in the jungle.

Huge skyscrapers stand tall in the city, while literally just a few blocks away there can exist the most idyllic of beaches.

It is also important to remember that Brazil is a place where there exists a great deal of wealth, and also poverty. For those visiting, it is impossible not to travel around this country without at sometime experiencing both realities.

Travelling though Brazil, you can almost feel as though you are travelling between centuries in simply a matter of hours. From the Amazon rain forest where the people live life, as they would have thousands of years ago, past the 19^th century ranches (fazendas) where the cow hands still ride the range. Right up to the ever-fashionable 20^th century in cities such as Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, where the influences from international trends are more apparent. Then there is always Brasilia the almost space age capital, where the avant-garde buildings definitely lead the visitor toward the 21^st century.

If you are travelling to Brazil to experience the beaches there, then you most certainly will not be disappointed. With more than 4,500 miles of Atlantic coastline Brazil is renowned for its superb beachlife.

Each city with a beach is unique in its own way. Rio is described as being in a class of its own, with a more sophisticated beach scene, while Salvador is the second most popular with its huge bay and numerous coves.

Recife and Fortaleza have the more exotic, wild beaches with coloured sand, dunes and moonscape rocks. Whereas the north eastern coast can offer some of the best scuba diving in the world, on the undeveloped island of Fernando de Noronha.

WEATHER IN BRAZIL

The coastal climate in Brazil is good, with summer (December to February) being hot and humid while winter (June to August) is cooler and more comfortable.

The Northeast is too hot to have a winter with an average monthly temperature of 77 degrees, in some places often soaring to 104 degrees.

Further South the temperature in winter can drop to the low teens, with some areas even having snow.

In Rio the rains last from October through to January, further north the rains come earlier starting in around April/May time.

THINGS TO DO IN BRAZIL

Visitors to Brazil should try to experience the Carnival at least once; it is likely to be the highlight for any visitor. It is a five-day festival that precedes Ash Wednesday, celebrated by street parades, dancing, conga drumming, over the top costumes and basically non-stop partying for five days solid! However, it can also be the worst time to visit Rio, when the taxi fares and accommodation prices rise because of the influx of people, and many of the people you find there are likely to be intoxicated the majority of the time!

Away from Rio is Salvador (Salvador de Bahia), a great city to visit, with historic buildings, museums and beaches. It too attracts many tourists during carnival time and is famous for being the Portuguese empire's second city, after Lisbon.

Because the beaches are famously good, they are the main reason many people visit Brazil. Rio, Recife, Fortaleza and Salvador to name but afew.

For those who don't go on holiday simply to sit on a beach and bake slowly, then there are plenty of alternatives available.

If you are feeling adventurous you can take day trips and boat tours up the Amazon. You can stay in the Amazon rainforest in a treehouse lodge, fish for piranhas in the afternoon, float along one of the tributaries in a canoe or stay up and look for alligators at night.

You can scale the rugged peaks and take an overnight horseback trek around the mountains in Minas Gerais, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Or you can explore the Pantanal in a variety of ways depending on the time of year, whether it be by jeep, horseback or in a canoe. It may not be as famous as the Amazon, but is a much better place to see local wildlife such as anteaters, crocodiles, anacondas and river otters.

The carnival aside, perhaps most famous in Brazil is the football, it is a national obsession. Going to watch a game in Brazil is an experience in itself and well worth it. Being able to play football or simply being able to talk about with some knowledge is also a sure fire way to make friends anywhere in Brazil.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Lonely Planet Brazil (4^th Ed) - Nick Selby, Andrew Draffen (Paperback November, 1998)

Footprint Brazil Handbook: the Travel Guide - Ben Box (Paperback June, 2000)

The Rough Guide to Brazil - David Cleary, et al (Paperback December, 2000)

Brazil Up Close: The Sensuous & Adventurous Guide - Pamela Bloom (Paperback December, 1996)

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Of course Brazil is famous the world over for its Carnival, whether it is in Rio, Salvador or Recife most of the shops close, as do the offices for the festivities

As an alternative to the massive Rio Carnival, the colonial town of Parati has its own carnival every year in February. Admittedly it isn't on the same scale as Rio but is more traditional and still has plenty of excitement.

The World Cup is often a good excuse for a celebration in Brazil, while the celebrations for Brazil's Independence Day take place on September 7^th, with military parades. Similar to those on November 15^th, which is the proclamation of the Republic Day.

In the rural areas of Brazil the towns have celebrations on the days of their local patron saints (Dia de Festa), where the festivities involve parading the image of the saint through the town, a lot of music and firecrackers, followed by thanksgiving mass.

New Years Eve (as with the rest of the world) is another great celebration in either Rio or Salvador, where there is a procession of participants in white who then perform ceremonies on the beaches.

WHAT DOES IT COST?

Prices of a good meal in Brazil range from reasonable to outrageous. You may easily spend over £70 on some pretentious restaurant if you order a couple of extra drinks, imported beer, and so on... Play it smart and check the menus outside before you go in. If the restaurant you go to does not have some window displaying the price list, go do your eating elsewhere - or get ready for a big Surprise. Also be suspicious of waiters that insist on serving you some fruit cocktail or schnapps - especially at steakhouses. They are not complimentary!

HOTELS IN BRAZIL

The prices of hotels in Brazil range from £50 to over £200 per night. The Luxor Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro being one of the more expensive, to the Premier Copacabana in Rio at the cheaper end of the market. A premium is paid for beach front, beware as to the location of your hotel, behind the major tourist areas is one huge shanty town, theft and muggings is rife. Don't scrimp and put your life in danger! Check out the location before you book, the bargain may not be as good as you thought it was, although the tour operators only offer reputable and accessible hotels for their clients.

Examples of mid range hotels that are in safe areas are:

Atlantis Copacabana is on the borderline between Copcabana and Ipanema at £50/ night

Atlântico is a comfortable hotel in Copcabana, four blocks away from the beach, near shopping, restaurants, nightclubs, transportation and all conveniences at £70/ night

The best youth hostel in Rio is across from a square in a quiet residential area in Copacabana known as Bairro Peixoto. It is about 6 blocks away from Copacabana Beach and three of blocks from the main street, at £45/ night.

Take note of the safety advice given by your tour operator and try not to stray unguided out of the tourist areas. This is a developing country rather than developed.

VISAS AND INNOCULATIONS

Visitors to Brazil need a passport valid for at least six months. Visas are not generally required for UK passport holders, but please do check first, especially if you do not hold a UK passport or dual nationality.

Hep A, Polio Typhoid and Malaria are all strongly recommended and Yellow Fever is arriving from an infected country, but is also strongly advised. Please seek professional advice; these are only guidelines.

The usual health advice applies as with most foreign countries. Don't drink the tap water or consume ice in drinks. Drink bottled water or use purification tablets. Take care against dehydration and over exposure to the sun, by drinking lots of (bottled) water and use high factor sun creams.

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