More location information and points of interest are available in the above map

THE NORTHEAST

Hot, sultry, rich in history, culture and some of the greatest music made in Brazil, the Northeast is perhaps the most beguiling part of Brazil. More than 2000km of fertile coastline is studded with idyllic white-sand beaches, pockets of lush rainforest, sand dunes and coral reefs. A spectrum of natural environments creates the perfect backdrop for a wide variety of outdoor activities. The picturesque urban centers of Salvador, Olinda and São Luís are packed with beautifully restored and satisfyingly decaying architecture. Add to this the lively festivals, myriad music and dance styles, and exotic cuisine loaded with seafood, and you will find Brazil’s most culturally diverse region.

• Salvador da Bahia - Once the magnificent capital of Portugal’s New World colony, Salvador has an energy and unadorned beauty that few cities can match.

• Praia do Francês - Close to the congenial resort city of Maceió, this is a fabulous, chilled-out beach backed with excellent places to eat and drink.

• Porto de Galinhas - Transformed from a sleepy port town to hip resort in just a few years, with a hypnotic strip of perfect white sand and a party crowd at night.

• Olinda - Brazil’s picture-perfect colonial enclave is a languid, liberal ensemble of Baroque architecture, art galleries and live music.

• Praia da Pipa - Soak up Brazil’s most fashionable beach scene, enhanced by dreamy beaches, pristine lagoons and rich marine life, including dolphins.

• Natal - From this lively coastal city – a hub for music and dance – you can explore hundreds of kilometres of wide, dune-backed beaches by 4WD or beach buggy.

• Jericoacoara - This low-key backpacker village in the dunes is far less isolated than it used to be, but just as compelling, with quality surf, wind and lagoons to lounge next to the top draw.

• Parque Nacional dos Lençóis - It’s worth making the effort to reach this spectacular national park, a vast area of untouched sand dunes studded with crystal-clear pools.

• São Luís - End up at this steamy colonial relic, its opulent azulejo-smothered mansions half crumbling but filled with vibrant bars, museums and galleries.

THE NORTH / THE AMAZON

The Amazon usually conjures up a romantic, near-mythical image in our minds, but nowadays the reality is also an urgent one. The future of this immense expanse of rivers and jungle, a vital lung for the world, is of huge importance. The numbers alone are mind-boggling: the Amazon Basin contains six-million sq km of river and jungle, and just over half is in Brazil. It contains 17% of the world’s fresh water, and the main river-flow at its mouth is 12 billion litres per minute.

While you can still have amazing wildlife experiences in the vastness of the forest here, it’s important to realize that pouncing jaguars and bulging anacondas are rare sightings. Nevertheless, a trip into the jungle ecosystem is deeply rewarding, both for wildlife-watching and the chance to appreciate how local communities have adapted to this water world. Manaus is a popular base for river trips, but there are other good possibilities. The main city, Belém, is an appealing launchpad to the region, while the tranquil white sands of Alter do Chão make a peaceful stopover on your way upriver. Nowadays a journey through the Amazon is a lot easier (and safer), it still requires some planning and patience. Take your time and make these stops along the way.

• Belém - The gateway to the Amazon basin is a surprisingly intriguing old city of museums, mango trees, live music and craft beer.

• Ilha do Marajó - This vast island at the end of the Amazon delta remains well off the beaten track, with wild, untouched beaches and herds of water buffalo.

• Alter do Chão - This remote Amazon town is the home – bizarrely – of a wonderful white-sand beach and a wildlife-rich lagoon surrounded by jungle.

• Floresta Nacional do Tapajós - Take a trip from Santarém to this tropical sanctuary along the Rio Tapajós, noted for its jungle trails and mammoth samaúma trees.

• Rio Amazonas - If you haven’t done so already, hop on an iconic Amazon riverboat at Santarém for the two-day journey into the heart of the jungle at Manaus.

• Manaus - The capital of Amazonia is home to the incredibly opulent (and incongruous) Teatro Amazonas, a host of creative restaurants and numerous jungle tour operators.

• Jungle-Tripping - Manaus is the perfect base from which to organize excursions into the surrounding jungle, with stays in romantic forest lodges or on riverboats.

• Acre - The wild, untrammelled jungles of Acre, on the Bolivian border, are prime wildlife territory – make sure you take a balloon ride over the forest to soak it all up.

NATURAL WONDERS

Amazon Rain-forest - The Amazon River Basin holds more than half of the world's remaining rain-forest, and over 60% of that lies within the North of Brazil — approximately one billion acres. The region is home to about 2.5 million insect species, over 40 000 plants species, 2200 fish species, and more than 2,000 types of birds and mammals. One in five of all the bird species in the world live in the rain-forests of the Amazon, and one in five of the fish species live in Amazonian rivers and streams.

Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica) - A region of tropical and subtropical forest which extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the Northeast to the Rio Grande do Sul state in the South. The Atlantic Forest has a wide variety of vegetation, including the many tree species such as the iconic araucaria tree in the south or the mangroves of the northeast, dozens of types of bromeliads and orchids, and unique critters such as capivara. The forest has also been designated a World Biosphere Reserve, with a large number of highly endangered species including the well-known marmosets, lion tamarins and woolly spider monkeys. Unfortunately, it has been extensively cleared since colonial times, mainly for the farming of sugar cane and for urban settlements — The remnants are estimated to be less than 10% of the original, and that is often broken into hilltop islands. However, large swaths of it are protected by hundreds of parks, including 131 federal parks, 443 state parks, and 14 municipal parks, most of which are open to visitation.

Pantanal - A vast tropical wetland expanse, one of the world's largest, sprawling over an area estimated at between 140,000 and 195,000 square kilometres. 80% of the Pantanal floodplains are submerged during the rainy seasons, nurturing an astonishing biologically diverse collection of aquatic plants and helping support a dense array of animal species.

Waterfalls (Cachoeiras) - Brazil has an amazing range of impressive waterfalls of all sizes and shapes. Iguazú Falls, in eastern Parana, is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world, truly a sight to see. The 353-meter Cachoeira da Fumaça in Bahia's Chapada Diamantina National Park is the country's second-highest waterfall after the Amazon's almost inaccessible Cachoeira do Araca. Other famous waterfalls include Caracol Falls, in the Rio Grande do Sul state park of the same name near Canela, Itaquira Falls, an easily accessible 168-meter fall near Formosa, Goiás, and the gorge at Parque da Cascata near Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais. Aside from the nationally famous falls, in many parts of the country, particularly the South, Southeast, and Central West regions, you are rarely far from at least one locally-famous, named waterfall worth a short hike.

BEACHES

Almost the entire coast of Brazil is lined with fabulous beaches, and the beach lifestyle is a big part of Brazilian culture. Nowhere is that more true than in Rio de Janeiro, with its laid-back, flip-flop-footed lifestyle and famous beaches like Ipanema and Copacabana. Beaches in other areas of the country may not have the instant name recognition but are no less amazing. The Northeast has jewels like Jericoacoara, Praia do Futuro, Boa Vista, Porto de Galinhas, and Morro de São Paulo which bring in throngs of travellers, particularly Europeans. In the South, weekend revellers flock to Ilha do Mel or Balneário Camboriú, while the 42 beaches of Santa Catarina Island draw in thousands of Argentinian tourists every year.