":: Brasil ::" Top 5 Page for this destination Brazil by perfectly_zen

This country is really cool! I can say this...i live here, and despite the political and social problems, Brazil has much to show...It´s the land of sun, parties, beaches and warm people.
We can´t say Brazil is made for tourists...in fact, in many parts of the country usually foreigners will have some hard time trying to communicate and find the information they need, but nothing the good old sympathy won´t correct. That´s why if you have plans about coming to Brazil, it´s important to plan and organize well your trip.....the rest is fun!!!

It´s a land of contrasts: every state you cross is a new landscape, a new culture, like a thousand countries molded into one. You´ll be able to see from paradisiac beaches, to dense forests, large dunes of white sand or even huge megalopolis....

It breaks my heart to see the wrong image Brazil shows the world....a big jungle with desorganized cities, poverty, violence and carnival is all outsiders know....but the country is much, much more than that...
I hope this page help to clear out this image....=P

Iguaçu falls - Paraná, south of Brazil

Brazil is huge, it´the fifth biggest country in the world and occupes over half the area of South America....flights from the south to the north of the country can take six hours or even more!! That´s why the climate and flora is so diverse...It´s one of the countries with the largest number of species of plants, reptiles, birds, mammals...
And the amount of rivers that cross Brazil should not be forgotten: the Amazon river is the biggest river in the world concerning volume of water, in some parts of it form one shore you can´t see the other....
With a population of over 185 million people, concentrated mainly in the southeast region, it was the only country in Latin America with portuguese influence...

About history: Brazil is a "young" country... it was discovered by the Portuguese in 1500, a nation that dominated most the art of navigation and for that reason became a great potence together with Spain...
Brazil gained its independence only in 1822, in fact because the investments were becoming expensive for the portuguese, who were losing much of their economical power. For centuries the country was used not as a place to live, but as a big backyard for plantation and exploration, just like all countries discovered by their colonizers at the time. Right up from that period, land was divided between the most powerfull, giving birth to the economical differences the country fights to correct till today.....

Some important data:
Area: 8.547.403,5 km2.
Coast line: 7.367 km
Population: 186,112,794 hab
Ethnic groups: caucasian 53.7%, mulatto 38.5%, african 6.2%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 0.9%, unspecified 0.7%
Religion: Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 15.4%, Spiritualist 1.3%, Bantu/voodoo 0.3%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.2%, none 7.4%
Language: Portuguese (official language, with accent varying according to the region)
Governement: federative republic, atual president is Luis Inacio da Silva('Lula')
Actual currency: Real

Discovery of Brazil - P. Seguro, Bahia

This page is organized like the following:
- Must see´s: the tips were divided into regions, starting from the Northeast, to the Southeast and South (unfortunately, I could not visit the whole country so some regions are still missing hehehe)
- General tips: Includes overall carachteristics of the country, concerning flora, fauna, some must activities and off course, the people...
- Dangers: you can have an amazing trip if you follow some surviving tips hehe
- Restaurant tips: with some data about typical dishes, and recipes when possible.
- Local Customs: tips about brazilian culture in general, and events...
- Off the beatten track: the name says it all...
- Transportation tips
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• Pros:Amazing landscape; warm, wonderful people....
• Cons:Impossible to visit the entire country in fifteen days....=(
• In a nutshell:There´s a dream place for every taste