Hiking and Trekking

There is no end to places to hike in Brazil. There are trails in natural reserves and state and national parks in almost every state, but hiking trails are the best in the rugged, lush, and mountainous national parks of the Central-West interior and along the coastlines of Rio, São Paulo, and the 80057 link South].

Top areas include the Chapada Diamantina, in the interior of Bahia; the Serra do Cipó in Minas Gerais; the Chapada dos Veadeiros, in Goiás; the Chapada dos Guimarães, in Mato Grosso; the Serra dos Órgãos and Itatiaia in Rio as well as the Serra da Bocaina spanning Rio and São Paulo; and the Serra Gaúcha in Rio Grande do Sul.

In general, hiking is most comfortable April–November (although temperatures can be quite cool in the South). During the summer, scalding sun and soaring temperatures can prove uncomfortable and exhausting.

Climbing

Brazil has lots of climbing challenges for climbers of every level. Many scaleable mountains have the advantage of being right on a tropical beach, which means coming down to a refreshing ocean dip. Rio has lots of great climbing opportunities, within the city itself and in the surrounding Serra dos Órgãos and Parque Nacional de Itatiaia. For more information see Hiking and Climbing in the Rio de Janeiro section. Like hiking, climbing is best between the months of April and November.

Hang Gliding and Paragliding

Those with Icarus fixations will enjoy gliding through Brazilian skies. One of the most famous gliding spots on the planet is without a doubt Rio de Janeiro, where you can take off from the jungly heights of the Parque Nacional da Tijuca and merge with the glorious vista of mountains, beaches, and the Baía da Guanabara before landing on the beach.

Dune Buggying

The Northeast coast—from Rio Grande do Norte through Ceará to the Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses, in Maranhão—is one long strip of glorious, often deserted beach, with long smooth stretches alternating with snow-white Saharan dunes. There are countless great day trips from Natal or Fortaleza. Those who don’t mind sand in their faces can even consider tackling a longer journey.

Surfing

With its laid-back vibe, balmy weather, and endless coastline, it’s little wonder that Brazil has a notorious surfista scene. The breaks and rollers on the southern coast are particularly enticing. The state of Santa Catarina, particularly the east coast beaches of Floripa and Garopaba, is a big surfer haven, as is São Paulo state’s northern coast around Maresias and on Ilhabela.

Rio rocks when it comes to surf. Búzios and Niterói are surfer meccas, but the city itself is a great place to catch a wave (and to get lessons at many surfing academies). Urbanites show off their mettle at Arpoador, while serious surfers head farther south to Prainha.

The Northeast coast generally has calmer waters, but you can find some good waves in Itacaré, Bahia, and in Porto de Galinhas, Pernambuco, as well as the paradisiacal island of Fernando de Noronha. In general, surf is best in the winter months between June and September.

Windsurfing

Windsurfing has become a popular sport all along Brazil’s coastline. On the coasts of Rio and São Paulo, particularly in Búzios and Ilhabela, there is a pretty solid windsurfing scene. However, the Northeast coast, particularly in the state of Ceará, is where true fanatics should head due to the combination of warm waters and ideal wind conditions (particularly from July to December). Urbanites can rent equipment along Fortaleza’s downtown beaches, while back-to-nature buffs should head to the beautifully secluded Jericoacoara.

Snorkeling and Diving

If you bring a mask and snorkel to Brazil, there are always calm coves worth poking around. The warm waters of the Northeast have the best snorkeling. The Coral Coast, which extends from northern Alagaos into southern Pernambuco, offers a 135-kilometer (84-mile) stretch of protected reefs that are ideal for snorkeling. The beaches surrounding São Miguel dos Milagres and Maragogi, in Alagoas, and Tamandaré and Porto de Galinhas, in Pernambuco, are all terrific snorkeling destinations.

In Rio Grande do Norte, you can snorkel at beaches both north and south of Natal, with special mention going to the offshore reefs of Maracajaú (which can also get very crowded). Meanwhile, the area surrounding Bonito, in Mato Grosso do Sul, is famous for flutuação, during which, outfitted with snorkel, mask, and life jacket, you’ll go floating down the region’s astonishingly crystalline rivers alongside myriad colored fish.

As for diving (mergulho), there are a few really standout spots, including the Reserva Biológica Marinha da Ilha do Arvoredo, off the coast of Porto Belo, in Santa Catarina; Arraial do Cabo, north of Rio; off Ilhabela, in São Paulo; the Parque Nacional Marinho dos Abrolhos, off the coast of Caravelas, in southern Bahia; and the phenomenally crystalline and rigidly protected waters surrounding the island of Fernando de Noronha.

Waters tend to have best visibility in the summer months (between November and February). All of these destinations have diving operators that offer excursions, rental equipment, and lessons for beginners.

Fishing

Despite the immensity of its Atlantic coast, it’s Brazil’s rivers that offer some of the best freshwater sportfishing in the world. Fed by various rivers including the Rio Paraguai, the Pantanal is a favorite destination for those serious about sportfishing. There are many fishing lodges (hotéis de pesca) along rivers, as well as “botels”; floating hotels specifically geared towards anglers.

Top spots include the area surrounding Cáceres (on the Rio Cuiabá), in Mato Grosso, and the areas surrounding the towns of Aquidauana, Miranda, and Corumbá, in Mato Grosso do Sul. Fishing season is between March and October.

The other great fishing destination is, unsurprisingly, the Amazon, where you can go after the enormous pirarucu or the much smaller but infamously fanged piranha—both of which are considered delicacies. Various tour companies run excursions out of Belém and Manaus.

Wildlife-Watching

Hands down, the best place for communing with Brazil’s unusual fauna is the Pantanal. From fazenda lodges located deep within the wetlands (and often only accessible by boat or plane), you can hike, boat, and ride horses in search of animals as strange and wonderful as capybaras, giant otters and anteaters, jacarés (caimans), and even elusive jaguars, not to mention a fabulous array of squawking, screeching, and colorful birds including the beautiful and rare arará azul (hyacinth macaw).

In fact, bird-watchers will be enthralled in the Pantanal, as well as in the Amazon rainforest. Overall, it’s much harder to see larger mammals in the Amazon—your best bet is to stay in a jungle lodge in the middle of the forest itself where, you can explore the river’s tributaries by boat—but aside from birds, you’re guaranteed to view plenty of caimans and pink river dolphins.

Along the coast, whale-watching is possible along the southern coast of Santa Catarina, particularly around the Ilha do Campeche, on the east coast of Floripa, and Praia do Rosa, south of the city. In Bahia, you can also take offshore trips to see whales frolicking, particularly in Praia do Forte and Caravelas. Whale-watching is best between July and November, when whales swim north from Antarctica for the hatching and nursing of their young.

Fans of dolphins can see—and often swim among—these intelligent creatures, in the Amazon basin around Manaus (particularly Novo Airão) and in the warm waters around Praia da Pipa, in Rio Grande do Norte, and, most impressively, those surrounding the island of Fernando de Noronha.

Soccer

It’s hardly a secret that soccer (known in Portuguese as futebol) is not just Brazil’s national sport, but a passion that borders on the fervently religious. It was introduced by a Brazilian-born man by the name of Charles Miller, who in 1894 returned from higher studies in England toting a soccer ball and equipment. The first soccer games played in São Paulo proved enormously popular, and futebol rapidly swept through the country like wildfire.

Today, Brazil is the only country in the world to have won five World Cups (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002), and during World Cup games, the entire country shuts down to cheer on the Selecão Brasileira (or to scream advice to the coach or players). While Brazilians are ferocious in their support of their teams, they are equally fierce at criticizing any botched play or strategy; consequently the range of emotions witnessed in any stadium or around any TV set is impressive. You’re as likely to witness big macho guys hugging and kissing each other for joy after a victory as you are to see them sobbing tragically following a defeat. In Brazil, jogadores de futebol rank as the country’s reigning celebrities, despite the fact that many of them spend most of the year overseas, playing for top European teams.

Aside from watching futebol (a year-round pastime since there is no “season”) everywhere you go, you’ll see Brazilians (mostly males) playing futebol. Whether it’s on the floodlit sands of Copacabana, the dilapidated streets of an urban favela, or a cleared makeshift field in the midst of the Amazon forest, soccer is ubiquitous. Often, players are barefoot and goal posts are rolled-up T-shirts; however, the passion is always the same.

Volleyball

In Brazil, volleyball is equally popular with men and women. Like soccer, vôlei is often played on the beach (barefoot). The possibility of a soft landing allows players to go all out in trying to dive for the ball (although you do risk getting sand up your nose). A variation of volleyball is futevôlei, in which no hands are allowed. Instead players use a combination of fancy footwork and hard-headedness.

Frescoball

Frescoball is a popular Brazilian beach sport in which two players lob a rubber ball back and forth using two paddle-like rackets. Invented in 1946 on Copacabana beach by a local resident named Lian Pontes de Carvalho, frescoball’s popularity quickly spread to beaches throughout Brazil, and more recently, to other countries as well.

© Michael Sommers from Moon Brazil, 2nd Edition