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Wonders of Brazil

Pedra Furada - natural arch with forest in it
Pedra Furada – natural arch with forest in it./ Otávio Nogueira Flickr / CC BY 2.0

WorldBlue  Highlights

Brazil is an enormous, diverse country with many amazing and unique attractions. Especially impressive are the diverse natural wonders of Brazil – many surprising geological monuments and areas with unique and endemic plants and animals. Few know it outside the country – but there are many beautiful historical cities. Many great monuments of architecture have been created in Brazil in the 20th century.

Brazil is divided into 26 states and 1 federal district.

List of states of Brazil
  • Acre
  • Alagoas
  • Amapá
  • Amazonas
  • Bahia
  • Ceará
  • Distrito Federal
  • EspĂ­rito Santo
  • Goiás
  • MaranhĂŁo
  • Mato Grosso
  • Mato Grosso do Sul
  • Minas Gerais
  • Pará
  • ParaĂ­ba
  • Paraná
  • Pernambuco
  • PiauĂ­
  • Rio de Janeiro
  • Rio Grande do Norte
  • Rio Grande do Sul
  • RondĂ´nia
  • Roraima
  • Santa Catarina
  • SĂŁo Paulo
  • Sergipe
  • Tocantins

Map with the described wonders

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WorldViolet Top 25 wonders of Brazil

Geological wonders

Iguazu Falls (Salto de Iguaçu)

Paraná and also Argentina

One of the most enormous and impressive waterfalls in the world, they are "only" 82 meters tall, but 2,700 meters wide.

Sunset at Iguazu Falls, from Brazil
Sunset at Iguazu Falls, from Brazil SF Brit / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
Mount Roraima

Roraima

The famous table-mountains in this part of the world have near-unique karst formations in quartzite. Over the many millions of years, it has been eroded by water, creating countless very interesting formations. Roraima is up to 2.8 km high.

View from Mount Roraima, Venezuela
View from Mount Roraima / , Flickr / CC-BY-2.0
Itaimbezinho Canyon

Rio Grande do Sul

Up to 720 m deep and 6 km long canyon with unbelievable, very impressive sights. Additional charm is added by exotic, tall araucarias.

Itaimbezinho Canyon, Brazil
Itaimbezinho Canyon / , Flickr / CC BY 2.0
Pedra Furada

Santa Catarina

Large natural arch – or rather a hole in the rock with a forest growing in it.

Sugarloaf Mountain

Rio de Janeiro

Impressive, rounded, 396 m high granite peak, one of the dominants in the landscape of Rio De Janeiro. Can be reached by a cable car.

Eldorado Falls (Aracá Falls)

Amazonas (Brazil)

A powerful, 353 m tall fall with a single plunge. Discovered recently, around 2000 AD.

Eldorado Falls, Brazil
Eldorado Falls / Screenshot from Youtube video Maior Cachoeira do Brasil, Moacir.R.Cruz
Abismo Guy Collet

Amazonas (Brazil)

The deepest cave in South America and the deepest quartzite cave in the world. It has been explored up to 671 meters deep.

Mocona Falls (YucumĂŁ Falls)

Rio Grande do Sul

Unusual, very impressive waterfall on the Uruguay River. This approximately 2 km long and up to 12 m tall waterfall is located in parallel to the flow direction of the river and ends in the middle of the stream.

Moconá Falls - approximately 2 km wide waterfall
Moconá Falls – approximately 2 km wide waterfall / Leandro Kibisz, Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.5
Gruta do Lago Azul

Mato Grosso do Sul

Unusually beautiful cave thanks to a deep, very large cave lake that is up to 70 m deep. In the morning the lake is illuminated by the Sun.

Lago Azul, Brazil
Lago Azul / Renato Saboya, / CC BY 2.0
Gruta dos Brejões

Bahia

Very impressive, a 6.6 km long cave with a 106 m high entrance. Passages are up to 150 m tall. Contains giant, unusual travertine terraces and ancient cave paintings.

Gruta do Janelão, Peruaçu karst

Minas Gerais

Group of very impressive karst formations: an underground river with 3 km long and up to 100 m wide and high passage. Includes two giant collapse dolines up to 170 m deep and several smaller ones. Includes one of the tallest stalagmites in the world – 28 m high.

Biological wonders

Sooretama Biological Reserve and Linhares Forest Reserve

EspĂ­rito Santo

The largest remaining area of North Eastern Atlantic forests. The area of this forest is approximately 50 000 ha, it is almost pristine and is one of the most biodiverse rainforests in the world with a very high degree of endemism.
State?

Archaeological wonders

Serra da Capivara rock shelters

PiauĂ­

More than 300 archaeological sites with numerous, up to 26 – 22 thousand years old (Pedra Furada shelter) rock paintings of Nordeste and Agresete cultures. Controversial carbon dating shows that people here lived even 35 – 48 thousand years ago which contradicts the theories of human arrival in the Americas.

Petroglyphs - symbols of Serra da Capivara, Brazil
Petroglyphs – symbols of Serra da Capivara / Marco Del Fiol, / CC BY 2.0
Pedra Pintada

Roraima

Very impressive, overhanging, 35 m tall cliff with a cave that contains 11,200 years old petroglyphs.

Calcoene megaliths

Amapá

Pre-Columbian structure – a circle marked with 127 blocks of granite, stones are up to 3 meters high. Possible ancient observatory. The area contains numerous interesting megaliths.

Calçoene megalithic stones in Brazil. Seemingly chaotic aggregation of stones possibly has certain order
Calçoene megalithic stones. Seemingly chaotic aggregation of stones possibly has certain order / Wikimedia Commons, user Leandroisola, 2008 / CC BY-SA 3.0

Architecture wonders

SĂŁo Francisco Church and Convent

Bahia

Baroque church with exuberant design, built in 1708 – 1755.

Christ the Redeemer

Rio de Janeiro

One of the most iconic statues in the world, the largest Art Deco-style sculpture in the world, constructed in 1922 – 1931. Statue itself is 39.6 m high but it is located on the top of another landmark, the 710 meters high granite peak – Corcovado mountain. This is the highest granite dome in Brazil. Magnificent sights of Rio de Janeiro city open from the top of the mountain.

Amazon Theatre

Amazonas (Brazil)

A beautiful, enormous opera house in Eclectic style. It was built in 1885 – 1896 in the jungle metropolis Manaus during the times of the rubber boom, using expensive materials from the whole world.

Itaipu Dam

Paraná

The largest hydropower plant in the world by the capacity of the annual production of electricity, with an installed capacity of generators – 14 GW. Dam is 7.7 km long and 196 m high and belongs to largest man-made structures in the world, built in 1984.

Santuario de Bom Jesus de Matosinhos in Congonhas and related buildings

Minas Gerais

Beautiful, ornate Rococo-style church built in 1772.

Historic center of Ouro Preto

Minas Gerais

Former colonial mining town, founded in the late 17th century and renowned due to beautiful Baroque architecture and well-preserved historic center.

Historic center of Goiás Velho

Goiás

Monument of early Brazilian colonization and mining from the 18th – 19th century. Goiás served as a development center of indigenous urban planning and architecture of the interior of Brazil and is well preserved up to this day. The region contains several more well-preserved historic cities.

Pelourinho (Historic center of Salvador de Bahia)

Bahia

A large historic center of the first capital of Brazil in 1549 – 1763, built on the upper side of a high cliff overlooking the Bay of Todos de Santos. The old city has retained its planning from the 16th century and contains numerous valuable historical buildings – churches, and palaces.

Pelourinho - historic centre of Salvador de Bahia
Pelourinho – historic centre of Salvador de Bahia / José Luis Ruiz, / CC BY 2.0
Paço Imperial

Rio de Janeiro

Royal palace of Brazil. It was constructed in the middle of the 18th century. Initially served as seat of governors of Brazil, the residence of kings and emperors of Brazil in 1808 – 1889. Built in Baroque style.

Church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Ouro Preto

Minas Gerais

Beautiful Rococo-style cathedral, built in 1766 – the 19th century.

WorldYellow Recommended books

Brazil Footprint Dream Trip


During your valuable vacation time, you will want to experience the heart of Brazil. Footprint’s Dream Trip Brazil will ensure you discover the very best this exuberant destination has to offer as well as take you to some fantastic out-of-the-way places hand-picked by the author. From the best places to experience the spectacular Carnival to guided boat tours down the Amazon, this new guide is packed full of ideas, suggestions, and expert advice and will help you design your own dream trip.

Brazil Guide


The Brazil Guide is the only guide to Brazil by Brazilians. It is an opinion guide that presents the country in a different way: the best itineraries, hotels, and restaurants share the pages with information about historical heritage, architecture, nature, and arts of the different regions of Brazil.


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