Brazil

Within an area larger than that of the continental U.S., Brazil’s varied landscapes encompass deserts, mountains, beaches, plains and forests. The only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas has a population of 198 million people, and like its landscapes Brazils cultures are equally varied: from cosmopolitan and chic urban centers, to rural estancias, to indigenous jungle villages. Brazilians are well-known for their enthusiastic passion for life and influences from Indian, African or European heritages are manifested in the unique traditions of each region.

The Amazon Basin, the region drained by the earth's mightiest river and its more than 1,000 tributaries, makes up 36% of the country's territory. Amazonia is known for its profuse tropical forests and diverse natural beauty. Manaus, a city of 2 million at the confluence of the Amazon and Negro rivers 1,000 miles upstream from the Atlantic, is one of the best bases for exploring this fascinating realm.

The country's capital city, Brasilia, is located on an elevated plateau covered by cerrado, an ecosystem dominated by stunted trees and semi-arid grasslands and wetlands which extends over the central and south-central parts of the nation outside of the Amazon. To the west lies the wildest sector, the Pantanal, a vast paradise of seasonally flooded swampland boasting the greatest concentrations of tropical wildlife in the Western Hemisphere. Here visitors find the largest numbers of wading birds on the planet. In contrast, the northeast part of the country is a seldom-visited, arid ecosystem called sertao.

A 120 mile-wide strip of fertile land along the coast entices visitors to Brazil's most pristine beaches and two of it's oldest cities, Recife and Salvador, with their strong African influences. Dotted with white sand, warm blue waters and coral reefs, the 4,630 mile coast follows the eastern seaboard past Rio de Janeiro, South America's most beautiful city, as well as the best preserved sections of the Atlantic rainforest.

Farms, rolling grasslands, tablelands, mountains, pine-forested valleys, and Chaco make up the far south's varied geography. Populated by European immigrants, the area's combination of temperate and subtropical climates offers a pleasing mix of urbanity and nature that includes spectacular Iguaçu Falls.