Find sixteen (16) World Heritage sites in Brazil, amazing environments in the interior like the Amazon, Cerrado Region, Iguaçu Falls, the Pantanal; extraordinary surviving achievement from the past like the historic cities of Ouro Preto, Olinda, Diamantina, Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis; Salvador da Bahia, & São Luis; the prehistoric past like Serra da Capivara; as well areas of the coast exceptionally still close to their majestic original selves Discovery Coast , São Paulo Atlantic Coast; and finally the island archipelago Fernando de Noronha |
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Founded at the end of the 17th century, Ouro Preto (Black Gold) was the focal point of the gold rush and Brazil's golden age in the 18th century. With the exhaustion of the gold mines in the 19th century, the city's influence declined but many churches, bridges and fountains remain as a testimony to its past prosperity and the exceptional talent of the Baroque sculptor Aleijadinho. |
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Founded in the 16th century by the Portuguese, the town's history is linked to the sugar-cane industry. Rebuilt after being looted by the Dutch, its basic urban fabric dates from the 18th century. The harmonious balance between the buildings, gardens, 20 Baroque churches, convents 
and numerous small passos (chapels) all contribute to Olinda's
particular charm.
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The ruins of São Miguel das Missões in Brazil, and those of San Ignacio
Miní, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto and Santa María la Mayor in
Argentina, lie at the heart of a The Guaraní are
best known for their connection to the early Jesuit missions of
Paraguay, the most notable mission foundation ever established in the
Americas, and for their later heroic provocation of a major expansionist
war as the State of Paraguay, against the combined powers of Brazil,
Argentina, and Uruguay — until practically all their able-bodied men had
been exterminated.
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As the first capital of Brazil, from 1549 to 1763, Salvador de Bahia witnessed the blending of European, African and Amerindian cultures. It was also, from 1558, the first slave market in the New World, with slaves arriving to work on the sugar plantations. The city has managed to preserve many outstanding Renaissance buildings. A special feature of the old town are the brightly coloured houses, often decorated with fine stucco-work. |
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The park shares with Iguazú National Park in Argentina one of the world's largest and most impressive waterfalls, extending over some 2,700 m. It is home to many rare and endangered species of flora and fauna, among them the giant otter and the giant anteater. The clouds of spray produced by the waterfall are conducive to the growth of lush vegetation. The waterfall
system consists of almost 300 falls, with heights of up to 70 meters,
along 2.7 kilometres of the Iguassu River. The Garganta del Diablo
("Devil's Throat"), a U shaped 150 meters wide and 700 meters long
cliff, is the most impressive of them all, and marks the border between
Argentina and Brazil. Most of the falls are within Argentine territory,
but from the Brazilian side (600 meters) a more panoramic view of the
Garganta del Diable is obtained. |
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Brasilia
(1987 )
Federal District Brasilia, a capital created ex nihilo in the centre of the country in 1956, was a landmark in the history of town planning. Urban planner Lucio Costa and architect Oscar Niemeyer intended that every element – from the layout of the residential and administrative districts (often compared to the shape of a bird in flight) to the symmetry of the buildings themselves – should be in harmony with the city's overall design. The official buildings, in particular, are innovative and imaginative. |
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GETTING THERE: By Highway:
Take BR-343 to the city of Floriano, then PI-140 to São Raimundo
Nonato. Another option for those coming from the South of the
country is through Petrolina/PE, which is 300 km from São Raimundo
Nonato. |
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TThe late 17th-century core of this historic
town, founded by the French |
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DDiamantina, a colonial village set like a jewel in a necklace of inhospitable rocky mountains, recalls the exploits of diamond prospectors in the 18th century and testifies to the triumph of human cultural and artistic endeavour over the environment. The urban and architectural group of Diamantina, perfectly 
integrated into a wild landscape, is a fine example of an adventurous
spirit combined with a quest for refinement
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The
Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves, in the states of Bahia and
Espírito Santo, consist of eight separate protected areas containing
112,000 ha of Atlantic forest and associated shrub (restingas).
The rainforests of Brazil's Atlantic coast The rainforests of southern Bahia and northern Espirito Santo States (Discovery Coast) are considered as the world's richest in terms of the number of species of trees per hectare. A recent study of CEPLAC and the New York Botanic Garden found 458 different species of trees in one hectare of forest in Bahia. Other surveys identified 476 species/ha in northern Espirito Santo (Thomaz and Monteiro, 1997). Until 300m, the principle vegetation type is highly diverse primary tropical moist broadleaf forest with tall (20-30m in height) canopy trees. The area contains perhaps the largest number of trees of Pau Brasil Caesalpinia equinata (VU) left on earth Some of the most outstanding features are the historic centres of Porto Seguro, Vale Verde, Trancoso and Santa Cruz Cabrália. Numerous archaeological sites, both prehistoric and historic, can be found in the area. The ruins of Brazil's first church lay at the top of a cliff to the north of Porto Seguro. An old Tupi civilisation town has recently been unearthed. There is a population of Pataxó people living in separate indigenous territories, such as Barra Velha (814 inhabitants), Boca da Mata (349), Imbiriba (137), Coroa Vermelha (1,202), Mata Medonha (142), Aguas Belas (65), Corumbauzinho (55) and Trevo do Parque (91). The Pataxó are survivors from the different indigenous cultures that lived in the region |
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The Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves, in the states of Paraná and São Paulo, contain some of the best and most extensive examples of Atlantic forest in Brazil. The 25 protected areas that make up the site (some 470,000 ha in total) display the biological wealth and evolutionary history of the last remaining Atlantic forests. From mountains covered by dense forests, down to wetlands, coastal islands with isolated mountains and dunes, the area comprises a rich natural environment of great scenic beauty. |
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The Central Amazon
Conservation Complex makes up the largest |
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The Pantanal Conservation Complex consists of a cluster of four protected areas with a total area of 187,818 ha. Located in western central Brazil at the south-west corner of the State of Mato Grosso, the site represents 1.3% of Brazil's Pantanal region, one of the world's largest freshwater wetland ecosystems. The headwaters of the region's two major river systems, the Cuiabá and the Paraguay rivers, are located here, and the abundance and diversity of its vegetation and animal life are spectacular. The area is a refuge for fauna as it is the only area of the Pantanal that remains partially inundated during the dry season. |
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Peaks of the Southern Atlantic submarine ridge form the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago and Rocas Atoll off the coast of Brazil. They represent a large proportion of the island surface of the South Atlantic and their rich waters are extremely important for the breeding and feeding of tuna, shark, turtle and marine mammals. The islands are home to the largest concentration of tropical seabirds in the Western Atlantic. Baia de Golfinhos has an exceptional population of resident dolphin and at low tide the Rocas Atoll provides a spectacular seascape of lagoons and tidal pools teeming with fish. The site accommodates the largest concentration of tropical seabirds to be found in the Western Atlantic Ocean, |
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 The two sites included in the designation contain flora and fauna and key habitats that characterize the Cerrado – one of the world's oldest and most diverse tropical ecosystems. For millennia, these sites have served as refuge for several species during periods of climate change and will be vital for maintaining the biodiversity of the Cerrado region during future climate fluctuations. /span> The Cerrado covers an area of 1,916,900 km²
(740,100 square miles), including the state of Goiás and the Federal
District, most of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Tocantins, the
western portions of Minas Gerais and Bahia, the southern portion of
Maranhão and Piauí, small portions of São Paulo and Paraná, and extends
into northeastern Paraguay and eastern Bolivia. The Cerrado accounts for
22% of Brazil's area, an area the size of Alaska. |
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Goiás is a testament to the occupation and colonization of the lands of central Brazil in the 18th and 19th centuries. The urban layout is an example of the organic development of a mining town, adapted to the conditions of the site. Although modest, both public and private architecture form a harmonious whole, thanks to the coherent use of local materials and vernacular techniques. |
This
sanctuary in Minais Gerais, south of Belo Horizonte was built in the
second half of the 18th century. It consists of a church with a
magnificent Rococo interior of Italian inspiration; an outdoor stairway
decorated with statues of the prophets; and seven chapels illustrating
the Stations of the Cross, in which the polychrome sculptures by
Aleijadinho are masterpieces of a highly original, moving, expressive
form of Baroque art. 
Park are decorated with cave paintings, some more 
and occupied by the Dutch before coming under Portuguese rule, has
preserved the original rectangular street plan in its entirety. Thanks
to a period of economic stagnation in the early 20th century, an
exceptional number of fine historic buildings have survived, making this
an outstanding example of an Iberian colonial town. 
are the world's richest in terms of biodiversity. The site contains a
distinct range of species with a high level of endemism and reveals a
pattern of evolution that is not only of great scientific interest but
is also of importance for conservation. 
protected area in the Amazon Basin (over 6 million hectares) and is one
of the planet’s richest regions in terms of biodiversity. It also
includes an important sample of varzea/i> ecosystems, igapó
forests, lakes and channels which take the form of a constantly evolving
aquatic mosaic that is home to the largest array of electric fish in the
world. The site protects key threatened species, including giant
arapaima fish, the Amazonian manatee, the black caiman and two species
of river dolphin