Geography
Brazil is a truly vast country, the 9th largest on earth, and extends over an area of more than eight and a half million square kilometres (only slightly smaller than the USA). Amazingly, it has borders with all of the South American countries except Chile and Ecuador. The dominant geographical element of Brazil is the Amazon Basin, which occupies the northern half of the country. The 6000 kilometre-long Amazon River (the world’s largest) gives definition to this densely forested and sparsely inhabited region. Although inroads are being made into the Amazon rainforest, by logging, mining and agricultural operations, it still contains 30% of the world’s forest resources. The state of Amazonas, at the northern edge of the country and adjacent to both Colombia and Venezuela, includes some of the country’s most remote (and least despoiled) territory. On the border between Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela lies the highland area known as Roraima, a region as large as France which includes 30 or 40 mysterious and little-known rocky summits, rising to between 2000 and 3000 metres above sea-level. These rocky peaks are known as “tepuis,” a local Ianomani Indian name which means mountain of the gods. The southernmost of these peaks are located within a vast tract of unspoiled Amazon rainforest which is shared between Brazil and Venezuela. The exact line of the border between these countries follows the watershed between the Amazon and the Orinoco and has not been exactly established. One of the biggest of the tepuis is Brazil’s highest peak, Pico Da Neblina “The Mountain of the Mists” (3014m.), which was only discovered as recently as 1953 and which towers almost 1500 metres above the surrounding high savannah landscape. This rocky massif differs from the usual tepuis, which tend to have flat tops. By contrast, Pico da Neblina presents a very impressive range, extending 80 kilometres north to south, with profound ridges and peaks and a huge central valley called the River Baria Canyon which follows the mountain’s north-south axis for tens of kilometres. The Pico da Neblina National Park was created in June 1979 and comprises around 5 million acres. Topographically, this area has three distinct levels, starting out with the lowest, the wetlands of the Branco and Negro rivers, at elevations of less than 160 metres. At this level the vegetation is pure Amazonian rainforest. The next highest level is the Amazonas-Orinoco Highland Zone. Finally, above 1200 metres, there is the Roraima Highland Zone, known locally as “gran sabana,” which includes rolling savannah grassland and scattered forest of moriche palms. In terms of its biodiversity, few areas in the world can match the Pico da Neblina National Park, which combines Amazonian vegetation and animal species with a variety of subtropical and temperate Andean elements otherwise not found in Brazil.

Time Zone
The time in Brazil is GMT -3 hours.

Climate
The essential character of the highland area known as the “gran sabana“ remains the same throughout the year, which is not too surprising, given its location (Pico da Neblina’s summit is less than one degree north of the equator). Generally, the weather in this region is not predictable and the mountains can create local rain at any time. The best seasons for a visit, corresponding with the usual periods of drier weather, are mid-July to mid-November and mid december to mid-February. Temperatures vay little throughout the year and we can expect daytime maxima of 33 degrees centigrade at Manaus, falling to 23 degrees centigrade at night. Higher up, on our walk-in to Pico da Neblina, the temperatures will vary between a humid 20 and 30 degrees centigrade, falling to 10 degrees centigrade at night.

History
The history of European influence in Brazil dates back to around 1500, when the Portuguese explorer, Pedro Alvarez Cabral made his landfall, some 800 kilometres north of the present day location of Rio de Janeiro. Over the next 3 centuries, the Portuguese expanded their influence throughout the territory, with the growing of sugar cane (supported by local Indian slave labour and later by African slave labour) the most important factor in the economy. Briefly, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, Portugal itself was actually governed from a base in Rio de Janeiro. Shortly thereafter, in 1822, Brazil gained its independence. Coffee gradually took over from sugar as the country’s biggest export and (after the abolition of slavery in 1888) there was a major influx of European peoples (mainly Italians) to work on the coffee estates. Brazil has tremendous natural resources and a huge labour force. On the strength of this, the country has managed to thrive over the last century, in spite of repeated periods of political unrest. Political stability and a more buoyant economy has been a feature of Brazil over the last decade. The current president is Fernando Cardoso. More than 50% of Brazil’s people can claim European descent and Portuguese remains the national language.

Currency
Brazil’s unit of currency is the Real. As of February 2006, the exchange rates are:

£1 = 3.7 Reals
$1 = 2.1 Reals
€1 = 3.5 Reals

It is not necessary to purchase Reals outside the country. Your travel money should be carried in the form of cash or travelers cheques in US dollars. Credit cards can be used to purchase goods and services in Manaus, and are particularly useful for more expensive souvenirs.

Visas
A passport with at least 6 months remaining validity is required. Visas are required by Nationals of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA. Other nationalities will be required to fill in a Tourist Card on arrival, which is valid for a 90-day stay in the country. You need to hang on to this Tourist Card and present it on your departure.

Vaccinations
You should visit your own doctor and dentist for a check-up prior to taking your trip to Brazil.
The following is a ROUGH GUIDE for immunization. (We must stress that this is only a basic guide to the most commonly required vaccinations for travel worldwide. You must seek and abide by the specific advice of your local doctor/medical professional).

(a) Polio (normally you will just need a booster.)
(b) Tetanus.
(c) Typhoid. A full course requires 2 injections separated by an interval of 4-6 weeks.
(d) Hepatitis (A) and (B).
(e) Anti-malarial prophylaxis: Please refer to your doctor for the most up to date information about anti-malarial medication for the areas that you will be visiting.
(f) Rabies pre-exposure vaccination. Please refer to your doctor for advice on whether you need rabies pre-exposure vaccination. In the unlikely case of your being bitten, this vaccination does not eliminate the need for urgent evacuation to a suitable medical facility for additional treatment,. However, it does simplify that additional treatment and also prolongs the period that you can safely delay before receiving post-exposure treatment.

Given enough notice, your doctor will be able to administer all the above vaccinations.

Additional Sources of Information

Books
Brazil – Lonely Planet. Nick Selby et al.
Brazilian Adventure. Peter Fleming.
Travellers Tales – Brazil – Lonely Planet. Scott Doggett.
In Trouble Again. Redmond O’Hanlon.
Running the Amazon. Joe Kane.
The Cloud Forest. Peter Matthiessen.
The Trekkers Handbook. Tom Gilchrist.

Maps
Canadian ITMB Series. 1:4,000,000. North East South America.
Canadian ITMB Series. 1:4,000,000. Amazon Basin.

Only small scale maps of this region are generally available in the UK.

Our trip dossiers/itineraries give details of books and maps that are specific to a particular trip. Click here for details of book and map retailers.

Web
Lonely PLanet - www.lonelyplanet.com
Rough Guides - www.roughguides.com