Brazil is the largest and most populated country in South America, and is fifth largest in the world in both area and population. Portuguese is the only official language of Brazil which is spoken by nearly the entire population. In fact, Brazil is the only country in the America’s in which Portuguese is their primary language.
If you look at a map of Brazil, you can see that it borders almost every other South American country except Ecuador and Chile. Brazil is divided up into 5 regions. The North Region, which is by far the largest, Northeast Region, Center-west Region, South Region and the Southeast Region, home of the most famous and popular destinations Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The capital of Brazil is Brasilia, and with 11 million plus people, Sao Paulo is its largest city. Sao Paulo Brazil is also one of the largest cities by area and population in the southern hemisphere.
Brazil has a large selection of outdoor activities available for tourists and locals alike. You can hike, surf, dive, go rafting, play golf, volleyball, soccer, fish or virtually anything else you may want to do in the great outdoors you can do here in Brazil. Like most places in the world as of late, Cave exploring is now a very popular commode and with about 2, 800 registered Caves, the tourism industry has never been brighter.
Brazil is, of course, is also home to over 60% of the Amazon Rainforest. The Rainforest itself has some 5.5 million kilometres in total size within 8 different countries. The Rainforest also has much wildlife and some species that even still have yet to be discovered. The very sad thing about this habitat is that by the year 2020, it is estimated that 50% of the Brazilian wildlife will become extinct!! It is so bad that since 1970, over 500 square kilometres have been lost in this beautiful forest.
One more thing to remember while in Brazil is that street violence in certain areas of the major cities could get very harsh and dangerous. Don’t let this stop you from going to go visit a remarkable place, just be cautious. Make sure you don’t bring a lot of money with you at one time, don’t walk around at night in places you don’t know and if possible travelling in groups is a great idea. It is also a good idea to make sure you ALWAYS have a photo ID on you. The Brazilian police can ask for such things anytime, and you don’t want to constantly have your passport on you. A photocopy is a must have, so be sure you carry those around and leave the original in a safe place.
Whether you are looking for a beautiful beach, a glimpse of the absolutely stunning Amazon Rainforest, or the mile high sky scrapers in downtown Sao Paolo, Brazil has a little something to offer to any travel adventurer.