Most Famous Must-See Tourist Attractions in Brazil

Brazil Travel Guide to Top Tourist Attractions

 

Brazil is the largest nation in both Latin and South America. In fact, at 8.5 million square kilometers and brimming with more than 211 million people, Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world by area and 6th most populous. As the biggest country in South America, Brazil actually occupies nearly half the continent. Almost all of it sits in the Southern Hemisphere, and a main part of its tropical with huge expanses of rainforest loaded with exotic wildlife and plants. 

Brazil's extensive Atlantic coast is lined with gorgeous golden sandy beaches, while its interior contains mineral resources. In fact, real gold from Brazil's old mines today lines Portugal's churches, the colonial power ruling Brazil till 1822. This powerful influence from Portugal is obvious in Brazil's colonial architecture, in the language itself, and in decorative arts like glazed tiles found in convents and churches. 

Tourists will find Brazil to be both a tropical heaven and a fun cultural destination with all sorts of attractions to satisfy the most discriminating taste, from world-renowned art museums, beach holidays, jungle explorations to the fabulous pulsing rhythms and sounds coming from Rio's Carnival. 

Use this Brazil travel guide to discover the top tourist attractions in Brazil. 

1) Cristo Redentor.  With arms widely stretched out 28 meters, as if to embrace the whole of humanity, the massive Art Deco statue representing Jesus Christ, better known as Cristo Redentor, is gazing out over Rio de Janeiro as well as the bay from the peak of Corcovado. It stands 709 meters high on top of the Tijuca National Park, and a rack railway actually climbs 3.5 kilometers to its peak, where a wide plaza is surrounding the statue. 

Constructed in 1931, the tall 30-meter statue was the artwork of French-Polish sculptor Paul Landowski and engineer Heitor da Silva Costa; the work is built of reinforced soapstone and concrete. The broad base encloses a nice chapel which is popular for constant weddings. 

A mid-point halt on the railway will lead you to trails along the Tijuca National Park, which is a very large forest protecting waterfalls, springs, and a rather broad diversity of tropical plants, birds, and butterflies. Many more equally scenic viewpoints unfold as you advance within the park.

2) Sugar Loaf.  The rounded stone peak of Sugar Loaf which sticks out towering 394 meters above the city and sandy beaches, is a fast recognized symbol of Rio de Janeiro. Tourists will want to climb to its summit to get amazing views of the harbor, Rio, and for the excitement of rising suspended inside a cable vehicle. 

Rio's initial settlement started below that peak, close to the Praia da Urca beach, and you can now enjoy touring the 3 early forts such as the star-looking Fort Sao Joao.

3) Copacabana.  Downtown Rio's famous area while following Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana, is bordered through one side thanks to 4 kilometers of interrupting surf and lovely white sand. The beach is divided from traffic and buildings by a wide promenade that's paved in white and black mosaic in a fashionable undulating pattern that recalls memories of streets of an earlier Lisbon, Portugal. 

The beach is not only for show; it's a popular spot crowded with swimmers, sun-lovers, and children erecting sandcastles. If you walk here, you'll run into cafes, restaurants, smart stores, and nice old buildings from the times when Rio was once Brazil's capital. One of such hot spots is the Copacabana Palace, now protected like a national monument. Stepping inside, you could readily imagine seeing the movie stars and royalty who must have lived here.

4) Carnaval.  There are hardly any shows that can rival Rio's Carnaval extravaganza on account of its action, color, sound, and exuberance. Be quite certain that this isn't only another out-of-control street party, but actually a well-planned showpiece which spectators could admire as they see samba dancers competing in the parades that show off their skills in the famed Samborombón with its series of grandstand boxes, dressed in brilliant costumes.

 

5) Ipanema.  Past Copacabana's beaches, the beautiful white sands merge into the comparably famous beaches found in Ipanema. In fact, the same type of design of Copacabana's broad promenade goes on here, which separates from the nearby line of art galleries, hotels, cafes, restaurants, including cinemas which make this a fun social place--all year-round. 

Further along, past the Jardirn de Ala Canal, the beaches of Leblon are situated. Families prefer these beaches. Sunday happens to be very busy, alive with music, handcrafts, art, music, street food, as well as the Feira da Artesanato de Ipanema and antiquated market at Praca de Quentaland. 

But Ipanema's and Leblon's waves could be exceedingly strong and unpredictable, so be super alert and careful where exactly you swim. Follow the example of the locals and keep out if no one else is swimming at a certain spot. If you are interested in surfing, proceed to the area between Ipanema and Copacabana, where you'll likely find local surfers hanging out.

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Most Famous Must-See Tourist Attractions in Argentina

Argentina Travel Guide to Top Tourist Attractions

First, a few facts: Argentina is a nation located in the southern half of South America and, covering a large area of 2,780,400 km makes it the biggest Spanish-speaking country in the globe by area alone. There are about 45.38 million people, and the currency is the Argentine peso. 

Argentina's marvelous and diverse geography encompasses from prohibited deserts, humid jungles, far-reaching ocean beaches to the breath-taking soaring Andes. Extending from the lovely subtropical north all the way to the subantarctic regions of gorgeous Patagonia in the south, Argentina's architectural, cultural, and artistic legacy is quite diverse and draw on a broad variety of influences from all over the world. 

With its remarkable barrios that include multi-colored arts communities like old-world Recoleta and trendy districts such as Palermo, Buenos Aires at times resemble Europe instead of a South American country. 

Without a doubt the vibrant capital city is a great point where to start exploring. Plus, other major draws are the nation's natural wonders which include the beautiful Iguazu Falls. 

To ensure that your visit becomes an adventure of a lifetime, read this Argentina travel guide to find the top tourist attractions in Argentina.

1) Iguazu Falls.  The breath-taking Iguazu Falls lie along the country's border with Brazil and surrounded by Iguazu National Park and Iguacu National Park. Protected by and part of the UNESCO World Heritage, the massive waterfalls are clearly one of the greatest sights in South America. 

Tourists could come very near to these roaring falls because of a terrific network of readily accessible walkways and observing platforms which were designed for providing great views such as catching the falls' bottom, or the Devil's Throat. 

In fact, Iguazu is made up of somewhere between 150 to 300 falls, all along its almost 3-kilometer edge, which is a number liable to vary on account of the season and, differing in height from 60 to as much as 82 meters, but each yet as stunning as the next. The site is easy to reach, especially if you take a flight from Buenos Aires.

2) Perito Moreno Glacier.  As a chief magnet for attracting tourists for visiting Patagonia's Los Glaciares National Park, the little charming town of El Calafate always offers a lot of accommodation choices, plus other amenities anyone coming here would appreciate. 

At this site is where many tourists end up joining excursions to visit the park's glorious glaciers, most importantly, the sensational Perito Moreno Glacier, which is a towering 30-kilometer-long ice formation, only 78 kilometers away from the town center. 

It is a 2-hour drive from El Calafate to the glacier's big visitor center, and from there it's only a quiet stroll to the glacier. If interested in climbing the actual glacier, ice trekking tours are now available ranging from one hour's trip covering the ice formation to 5-hour excursions. 

Another significant feature worth noting that Los Glaciares National Park offers is the 3,359-meter-tall Monte Fitz Roy; it's an amazingly lovely mountain that straddles the border with Chile which is known to be even more challenging to climb than Everest!

3) Ricoleta and La Boca in Buenos Aires.  As South America's most-visited city, Buenos Aires is frequently the initial glimpse of Argentina that many tourists shall have prior to going off to highly popular destinations like Patagonia. However, the smartest visitors will linger here a bit longer and tour the several art galleries and charming museums housed in the superb old colonial buildings that stretch across the city's barrios. 

Do not dare miss La Boca which is Buenos Aires' extremely colorful community as well as home to the odd Caminito Street Museum, which is a fine pedestrian zone and popular open-air museum, famous for its attractively painted houses, music, tango dancing in the streets, cafes, and funny sculptures. 

The trendy Recoleta is yet another place worth visiting and where you'll run into the Recoleta Cemetery displaying mausoleums that contain the remains of famous Argentinians like Eva Peron, near many museums, public gardens, boutique shops, cafes, and art galleries.

  

4) Tierra del Fuego National Park.  The massive 156,000-acre national park stretches from Beagle Channel all the way to the Chilean Border and even northwards to Lago Kami. In a nutshell, it's a hiker's little paradise, boasting trails for every one of every experience level. Utilizing the small town of Ushuaia as a sort of base, hikers and adventurers can start the park's hiking trails, or explore its notably glamorous scenery along the coastline, including from towering waterfalls, mountains, dense forests, to lovely glacier-fed lakes like Fagnano and Roca. 

A very popular route to take is Senda Costera which is a coastal path leading to Lake Roca which provides an opportunity to observe a broad diversity of wildlife such as Andean condors. You can take the excellent Southern Fuegian Railway to enjoy these wonderful sights in comfort; it's an antique but elegant steam train running through the national park to Canadon del Toro.

5) Puerto Madryn.  The city lies on Golfo Nuevo's shores in a very sheltered location on the Patagonian coast. Welsh settlers founded it back in 1886 and is the city's deep-water port. The nature reserves has made it a very popular cruise destination in Argentina. Its rugged natural coastline unfailingly attracts both water sports enthusiasts and windsurfers alike. 

Even nature lovers will find a ton of activities to engage in on the Valdez Peninsula, which is a significant nature reserve, in fact, a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its diverse wildlife. For sure you'll need a guided tour and tourists often see whales, orcas, sea lions, and elephant seals. Plus, it's a key breeding ground for migratory shorebirds and Magellanic penguins.

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