General Description

Salvador

Bahia, known as the Land of All Saints, is situated on the Northeast coast of Brazil and is a lovely tropical state with white sandy beaches, coconut groves, golden sunshine, refreshing blue sea and greatweather year round. It is the heart of Brazil, colonial, modern and mystical and the first capital of the country. White settler from Europe, black slaves from Africa, along with the native Indians have built a harmonious life, which still prevails today. Salvador is is divided into “Lower City”, which is at sea level with old port and commercial district, “Upper City” is reached by stone steps and Lacerda elevator with old governmental buildings,residential district, museums and churches. There are churches for each day of the year; both majestic and simple, made of gold, silver and stone. Many interesting museums portray arts, customs and life of the past, fortresses built centuries agoin medieval style are still standing here. Pelourinho, historical centre with its old mansions and houses is considered the most important architectural setting in the world that has completely restored recently. The “Baianos” are warm and open people, mulattos - mixture of races: black, white and Indian. Religious festivals like the Capoeira, a dance game originated from the slaves using amusical bow “berimbau”, are fascinating.  

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro is located on the Atlantic Ocean coast and it’s privileged with wide beaches andimpressive mountains. Known as “Cidade Maravilhosa” – the marvelous city – Riois a perfect combination of warm weather, beautiful sceneries, friendly people,music and happiness. A beauty comes from its natural tropical environmentwhere mountains, forests, beaches, lagoons, and vegetation form a dramaticback-drop.The wonders of Rio can be admired from the top of the Sugar Loaf, impressive inits own height, guards the entrance of the Guanabara BayThe Corcovado Statue blesses the entire city with open arms and dominates most of the Carioca skyline.Tijuca Forest is the largest urban forest in the world. Rio’s other natural attractions include the Botanical Garden, the Bay of Guanabara and Paquetá island and many parks and gardens. Discovered in 1502, Rio de Janeiro still has many vestiges of its historic past onshow. Buildings which date from the 16th to the 19th centuries.Nightlife and entertainment in Rio are great! In Lapa and Santa Teresa there are the most typical bars playing old sambas in a setting that still preserves houses and old mansions.More sophisticated nightclubs can be found in Ipanema, Leblon, Barra and Gávea. Soccer is Rio’s main spectator sports with crowds of 100,000 or more for themajor games at the Maracanã Stadium, the word’s largest stadium. The city’s 90 kilometers of beaches are an integral part of the Rio lifestyle. Riohas beaches run through its very heart and they are a center of entertainment and relaxation for the residents and visitors

Manaus

The first settlement in the area of Manaus was created by Captain Francisco da
Mota Falcão who built the São José do Rio Negro fortress in 1669. In the year 1889
when Brazil became a republic, Amazon's became a state. During the exploration of rubber trees, the area experienced a progress boom that spanned the years of 1895 until 1911.
The São José do Rio Negro fortress received the name of Manaus in 1856. During
the "rubber" years, it was a thriving port and a cultural center .Manaus bears today witness to that period with highlights such as the Manaus Opera House, the Manaus Floating Dock, Rio Negro Palace (Government) and the Customs Building. For the last 10 years,
Manaus has become the main entranceway to the Amazon rainforests.

Amazon

The term rainforest describes forests that grow in constant humid conditions and where
the annual rainfall is above 2,000 millimeters. Contrary to popular belief, tropical trees are not over-sized, ranging 30 to 40 meters.
The Amazon Rainforest is the largest tropical forest in the world, covering 6 million km2 in 9 different countries (in Brazil, circa of 60%). At a first look, forest seems to be rather uniform in physiognomy but in fact there are many typological variations and ample species diversity. The forest canopy is frequently discontinuous, giving space for special ecological niches.

At the heart of this region lies the huge Amazon River, the second longest watercourse of the
world. The Amazon holds more than 20% of the planet's fresh water, has at least
1,000 tributaries. The Rio Negro is its largest tributary.