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Brazil can well be called a land of passion - the people of Brazil are vibrant, energetic, and full of an irrepressible zest for life. Visit the country during the Carnival to get a sense of the essence that is Brazil. The thick Amazon forests, the pristine tropical beaches, the long winding rivers and the people themselves make Brazil a land full of mystery and surprises. Brazil gets it’s name from the tropical redwood - the pau do brasil, which the first settlers exported from the country. Occupying almost half the continent, Brazil is the largest country in South America. It ranks fifth largest in area and sixth in population when compared to other countries in the world. Distances in Brazil are enormous. Its population is over half that of all of South America ---over 65% of the population is below 30 years of age. Brazil is young country and promises to be an exciting one.

Did you know that Brazil got its name from the nut and not the other way round. Be sure to drink lots of coffee when in Brazil – after all they do produce the best coffee in the world! Carry an adaptor; voltage is not standardized in Brazil.

Historically Speaking

Native Indians lived in Brazil fairly peacefully long before the Europeans arrived. The Portuguese and the Dutch colonized Brazil between 1500 and 1821. Pedro I crowned himself Emperor and Brazil became an independent empire. In 1889, the empire was overthrown by a military coup. The late Brazilian Republic adopted a constitution similar to that of the U.S.A. For nearly 40 years the country saw a line of military and civilian presidents. In 1934, Vargas drafted a new constitution that made him a national hero and later a dictator. In 1989, the first presidential elections made Fernando Henrique Cordoso the President. Brazil's current president is Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, elected in 2002 and re elected in 2006.

Habitat

You will find the landscape changing dramatically as you travel around in Brazil. Much of the northern area is covered by tropical rainforest – the magnificent Amazon winds it way through here. Mountains emerge from the north of the forests and run along the Atlantic Ocean in the southeast and beaches line the coast. The Amazon basin is plain and it funnels into the sea. The rainfall here is heavy and it rains so much that the basin gets flooded every year. The River Plate basin in the southern part of the country has a more varied surface and does not have forests as thick as those of the Amazon. The land here is higher and the climate cooler. The highlands form the rest of Brazil. The Guiana Highlands, which lie north of the Amazon are partly forested and partly desert. The Brazilian highlands lie to the SE of the Amazon and NE of the River Plate basin. There is a rich variety of plant, amphibian and primate species. The country ranks third for its variety of birds and fourth for reptile and butterfly species.