Brazil: Eyewitness Travel Guide, , The Travellers Bookstore, Melbourne, Australia

Brazil is a vast country with fantastic beaches and buzzing cities as well as the wild Amazon rainforest. Brazilians are a fascinating people - one of the most ethnically diverse in the world - with significant immigrant populations from Europe & Japan as well as Africa. Each group has left its mark: there is colonial architecture in the Northeast in the cities of Salvador, Sao Luis and Olinda. Followers of the Afro-Brazilian cult of Candomble can also be found in Salvador. Carnaval explodes in Rio every year and shows that Brazilians know how to enjoy themselves. Rio and Sao Paulo are lively modern cities full of activity and beautiful people. If you want to discover the Amazon, a visit to Manaus - the capital of the Amazonas - is a must. Other natural wonders include the inland semi-arid area of the sertao and the huge swampland of the Pantanal, full of alligators, birds and the occasional anaconda. And don't forget a visit to the city of Brasilia, a marvel of futuristic design.