Incredible beaches, great party atmosphere, big cities and of course, a lot of nature…If you like these things, we are sure you would love to visit Brazil. Being the biggest country in South America and covering a great part of the whole continent means there are a million things to do in Brazil and it´s impossible to get bored. Today we are going to talk about the most incredible and famous places to visit in Brazil.
1) Amazon rain forest
No matter if you are or if you are not a fan of nature and wild areas, the Amazonas is without any doubt one of the most interesting places to visit in Brazil. Considered by many the wildest place on earth, the Amazonas is home to a huge number of species of animals and plants that are endemic and in many cases in danger of being extinct.
Although visiting the Amazon rain forest is for sure one of those things you have to do at least once in your life, we are going to recommend you visiting it with local guides, that will allow the people from the area live from the income of tourism and not from hunting or deforesting.
Due the deforestation and the illegal mining, the Amazonas is suffering a lot, but we can still consider it as one of the best places in Brazil.
2) Iguazu Falls
Yes, we know there is more than just nature in Brazil but let´s recognize that they are one of the best countries to visit when talking about natural areas. In this case, of course, we had to mention one of the most beautiful places in Brazil…The Iguazu falls, or as they say in Portuguese: Cataratas do iguaçu.
The Iguazu Falls are located in the frontier between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, and being honest, no matter from where you see it, you will love the view. It is said by many people that the Iguazu Falls are even more impressive than its two competitors (Victoria and Niagara Falls), and it is true that it´s wider than both of them.
Other than that, the whole area is surrounded by nature and doing a trip is definitely worth it! For sure we considered one of the best tourist attractions in Brazil. And again…we are going to ask you to be respectful with the atmosphere if you end up visiting it.
3) Christ the redeemer
We have listed on third place one of the new seven wonder of the world: “Christ the redeemer”. It´s one of the most visited places in Brazil (probably the most) and you will regret not stopping by if you go to Brazil.
There are many people who don´t appreciate it properly the statue and say that it doesn´t deserve to be one of the new seven wonders, and the truth is that its recognition is not only because of the statue, which is absolutely amazing, but because of the view of Rio you can have from there.
The statue is 30 meters high and what is more impressive is that it´s located at the peak of the Corcovado Mountain (700 meters high) in Tijuca Forest National Park.
4) Pelourinho
One of the most amazing things to see in Brazil is the colonial quarter of Pelourinho, also recognized for being the historic center of Brazil´s first capital, Salvador de Bahía.
The whole area is beautiful by itself thanks to having colorful houses, but also some of the most incredible churches and monasteries of the country. Imagine how great it is that in order to preserve it and keep in good conditions, they named it as an UNESCO World Heritage in the 90´s.
The most recognized building in Pelourinho is the church of São Francisco, which due to its “azulejos” (tile panels) and in general its structure, will make you feel as if you were in Porto. It´s for sure one of the must-see places in Brazil.
5) Copacabana
It´s hard to say, but we would honestly say that Copacabana is the most popular attraction in Brazil… Yes, even more than the Amazonas or the Christ the redeemer. Copacabana, in case you don´t know about it, is what makes the famous postcard of Rio, what is shown in almost every Brazilian movie and for sure the most iconic view of the country.
Copacabana is a 4 km long beach, where people play volleyball tournaments, go for a swim, make castles in the sand and many other beach activities. On the surroundings of this area, you will find all kinds of restaurants, hotels and shops, is ideal for tourists, but also a paradise for the locals.
If you are not a big fun of staying at the beach, you should at least go through its white and black promenade to enjoy the marvelous view of Rio.
6) Lençóis Maranhenses
If you are looking where to travel in Brazil, but you don´t want to go to a very touristic area, we recommend you one of the most exotic places on earth, the Lençóis Maranhenses national park. That´s right, there is a desert in Brazil and is very different to any other normal desert.
The place itself looks unreal because you will be able to appreciate the dunes of a dessert but separated by small lakes formed by the heavy rains that occur during the year.
The Lençóis Maranhenses is a paradise for photographers and the best of all is that not so many people know about it, especially in other countries. You will see national tourism, but not many foreigners.
7) Sugar Loaf
We had to put another place located in Rio, but who doesn´t know about the famous rounded rock of “Sugar Loaf”, as it happens with Copacabana and Christ the Redeemer, the rock is also part of the iconic view from Rio that we have seen so many times in movies and pictures.
The rock is around 394 meters tall and almost every tourist that visit the city choose it as the first destination to go in Rio. Other than the views of Rio you can enjoy from there, people also go because there is a cable mountain that rides you to the lower peak of Morro da Urca, on the way you can admire some of the best views of Brazil.
A curious fact about Sugar Loaf is many people have agreed that the rock is around 600 million years old. Impressive right?
8) Pantanal
Another of the Brazilian places to visit is the Pantanal, which is so big that it also occupies part of Bolivia and Paraguay. The Pantanal is the biggest tropical wetland area in the world, and it also has an incredible diversity.
The Pantanal is increasing its popularity and more people are visiting it in the last years, but it´s still a not so recognized destination in Brazil because its access is quite complicated. For example, in the rainy season almost everything is flooded, so you can only go by boat or plane.
This area is perfect for animal lovers as you may be able to see capybaras, caimans or even jaguars if you are lucky enough. So be respectful with the nature if you want it to keep being so wild.
9) The “Favelas”
Not many people would include a tour through the favelas of Rio as one of the best things to do in Brazil, as many people believe these are marginal areas, with a lot of poverty and violence. Although this may be true, if you really want to get to know Brazil visiting them is a must.
During the last years, in Rio people have realized that favelas are something that interests many tourists and now you can find a lot of tours through these areas to see how some of the locals live.
We all have to recognize that the view of all the colorful favelas together is something very interesting to see, plus, some people say that there are many other areas that are more dangerous.
10) Cathedral of Brasilia
We are finishing our list of the 10 most popular places in Brazil with a monument that it´s very different to the rest of the places we have mentioned before. We are talking about the cathedral of the capital Brasilia, which is known as the “Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida”.
It´s probably the most “modern” architecture in Brazil. It was completed in 1970 and it´s a representation of the famous plan to change Brasilia for Rio as the new capital of the country.
Depending on your taste, you may or may not like the cathedral on the outside, but we all have to recognized that the stained-glass ceiling is something very impressive.
Do you know any other places to go in Brazil?
That´s the end of our list of top 10 tourist attractions in Brazil, as you have seen the majority of these places are known worldwide and visiting them is a dream for many people.
Hope you have enjoyed reading the article of the most famous places in Brazil and let us know if you know any other place we should add to this list! Thank you!
If you want to know more about Brazil, you can see our artciles of What is Brazil famous for and famous food of Brazil
