Brazil is the largest state in the South America

Brazil is the largest state in the South America. The country occupies about 5,7% of all land and it is the firth in size in the world. The capital is Brasilia. This country is famous for huge number of tourists, because there is really something to see here.

Lovers of nature will be glad to see Amazon Rain Forests, Iguazu Falls, swampy law land Pantanal and dunes in the North-eastern region. Fans of the new branch of tourism -Agro-tourism- tend to visit places where coffee, sugar cane, tobacco and citrus fruits are grown. People will be able to spend time with enjoyment on the beaches of the Santa Catharina and they will have the opportunity to visit «the crystal dream of childhood» of the great adventurer Ostap Bender in crowded and unique Rio de Janeiro. Your attention will be drawn to the original culture and national cuisine, that was formed under the influence of Indian traditions and features brought by immigrants from Europe and Africa.

Brazil have common borders with all countries of this mainland except Ecuador and Chile. There is one interesting thing: the length of the territory from north to south and from west to east is almost the same — 4320 km versus 4328 km. The length of coastal line is almost 7500 km. In addition to the continental lands, several archipelagos in the South Atlantic belong to Brazil.

190 million Brazilians speak 175 languages today. Brazil is the only one country located on the territory of both Americas, where the official language is Portuguese. It is used in schools, different institutions, on the radio and television. The main religion is Catholicism. In July 2013, it hosted a Christian meeting with visitors from all over the world. Pope Francis visited Brazil (by the way, he himself comes from neighboring Argentina).

The traits of the national character of any Brazilian can be described as follows: sentimentality, warmth, poetry, delicacy. But if you do not show proper respect and attention to your new friend, you will lose his friendship. The law of the abolition of slavery in Brazil was adopted only a little more than 100 years ago, in 1888. Now, Brazilians are always ready to remind: "This is not a colony for you!" - demanding that they should be treated with respect.

Brazilian Carnival is a festival of fun, colors, unusual people, spectacular clothes, songs and dances. Every year at the end of February, the whole of Brazil, captured by the continuous thunder of drums beating the rhythm of samba, plunges into the most noisy, bright and cheerful holiday, the grandest show on the planet - carnival.

Its origins can be traced to the ritual dances of Black Africa, the rhythms of which, coinciding with the beats of the heart, were brought to Brazil along with millions of black slaves. And now samba penetrates into the blood of all participants and guests of the carnival for five days, as for five days Brazil becomes an African country.

Rio de Janeiro is one of the most visited by tourist cities in Brazil. This is due to a well-developed infrastructure and a huge number of attractions.

A business card of Rio is rightfully considered the statue of Christ the Redeemer, which has towered over the city for more than eighty years. It was installed in 1931, and in 1965 it was consecrated by Pope Paul VI.

To visit Rio and not climb the Sugar Loaf peak – this is simply impossible to imagine. The height of this mountain is about 396 meters, from its top opens an incredible view on the city and the ocean. You can get here by making an exciting ascent on a cable car.

Among the numerous ocean bays near Rio de Janeiro the most popular is Botafogo Bay – a stunning place with views of the small islands located nearby, the business part of the city.

Carioca Aqueduct (Lapa Arch)
The construction of this structure was completed in the middle of the 18th century. With its help, clean water from the river was delivered to the city and distributed to residential areas. Later, approximately from the end of the 19th century, the arch began to serve as a bridge between the center Rio and the Santa Teresa district. At present, the structure is used mainly in the tourist business, for visiting local attractions: a special tram runs along the bridge.

San Sebastian Cathedral
The 75-meter structure looks very original for a Catholic church. It is built in the form of a truncated cone, resembling a Mayan pyramid. Located at a height of more than 60 meters, colored stained glass windows and the figure of Christ the Savior, suspended on steel cables, create a spiritual and even mystical atmosphere in some ways. The scale is also impressive: the cathedral building can accommodate up to 20 thousand worshippers at the same time.

Maracana
The Maracana is the largest stadium on the entire continent. If you want to see the football field where Pele, Garrincha, Zico, Socrates and other Brazilian sport stars demonstrated their skills to the admiring fans, feel the atmosphere of the main arena of the famous "Selesao" ("the chosen ones") – this is how they call their national team here - you should definitely visit the Maracana. Another fact that shows the love of local residents for football was the recognition of the main Brazilian stadium as a historical monument.

History of Brazil. The navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral, who discovered these territories in 1500, initially called them the Land of the True Cross, after some time the name was transformed into the Land of the Holy Cross. Much later, the modern Terra de Brazil appeared.

On the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, huge areas of special trees were discovered, which began to be actively exported to the metropolis. The material was very similar in its properties to the famous red wood, which was delivered to local markets by Arab traders. It was called in Portugal pau-brazil. This tree was used for the production of expensive furniture, musical instruments and even paints.

The colonizers felt that they had managed to find the very place where merchants took such a valuable commodity. And although the conclusion was erroneous (brazil actually grows in Southeast Asia), the word has come in use.

Other researchers tend to associate the origin of the modern name with the" island of the blessed " Brazil, which is mentioned in Irish mythology and even could be found on geographical maps in the Early Middle Ages.

This place, which according to legend served as the heaven for monks and other people marked by God's grace, was hidden from prying eyes by thick fog, but numerous navigators made attempts to discover the mysterious land.

Anyway, almost from the moment of its discovery for the Old World until 1822, Brazil used to be the colony of Portugal. The colony regularly supplied Portugal with valuable wood, coffee, sugar cane and gold. A lot of African slaves were brought here, whose descendants today make up a significant part of the population.

Slavery in the independent republic was abolished only in 1888. At the same time, a flood of immigrants from Europe poured onto the shores of South America. It is significant that newcomers from a particular country tried to settle compactly, on the same territory, and these communities still quite clearly differ from each other.

Topography and climate of Brazil.
The terrain is heterogeneous. The lowlands in the basin of the largest and most full-flowing river of the planet – the Amazon - occupy rather a significant part of northern Brazil. This territory has the status of the largest lowland in the world and at the same time is considered the least populated and developed lands.

The south and east of the country are highlands : wide Brazilian, and separate from the main massif by the Amazon riverbed - the Guianan. On the shore of the Atlantic ocean there are beaches, lagoons and natural harbors.

Climate of Brazil can be called hot. The nature has filled Brazil with amazing places of beauty.
Pantanal

Lensoyce

Iguazu Falls