Things to do in Brazil

Brazil covers 8.5 million square kilometres, and distance is the first thing to plan around. Tours in Brazil gather in two very different places: the Amazon and Rio de Janeiro. Flying between them takes over four hours.

The Amazon

Brazil holds about 60 percent of the Amazon forest. Trips there follow the rivers, and the river level sets the season.

• Manaus. On the Rio Negro, and the usual gateway: jungle lodges, boat days, the Meeting of the Waters, and a city with a rubber-boom opera house.
• Santarém and Alter do Chão. River-beach country on the Tapajós. Alter do Chão lies about 35 kilometres from Santarém by paved road, and a day trip runs from 8 am to 4 pm. A walking tour of the town takes about three and a half hours, through the port and the market.
• Marajó Island. Trips of two and three days by regional boat, with a buffalo-leather tannery in Soure and beaches around Salvaterra.
• River boats. Hammock or cabin passages run from Manaus to Santarém in three days, to Belém in four, and to Tabatinga, at the Colombian border, in about six.

How long to allow

Jungle stays run from one night to six days. Boat passages between cities take three to six days. Rio works in single days.

Rio de Janeiro

• Maracanã. A tour of the stadium that staged the World Cup finals of 1950 and 2014.
• Favela visit. A private three-hour visit with a guide.
• Búzios to Rio. A full-day trip of about twelve hours from the beach resort.

Practical

• Weather. The Amazon stays hot and humid all year, with highs of 30 to 33C, and it rains hardest from December to May. Rio reaches 30 to 33C in summer and about 25C by day in winter.
• River level. The rivers swing by about ten metres between seasons. High water floods the forest and canoes glide between the trunks; low water opens trails and sandbanks.
• Boats. On the hammock passages you bring your own hammock.
• Health. Yellow fever vaccination is recommended for the Amazon. Ask a travel clinic well before you go.
• Language. English is uncommon outside hotels and tour desks.