Brazil is a vast country with delightful golden beaches, vibrant cities, colonial baroque architecture, a fascinating history and a multitude of ethnic groups – and the world-famed Carnival. The landscape is as diverse as the people who live there: the lush vegetation and exotic wildlife of the rainforest and rivers of the Amazon with pink dolphins and more than 2,000 species of fish; the Pantanal wetlands, the largest in the world, with jaguar, ocelot and hyacinth macaw; and the thundering Iguaçu Falls, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Vassa Holidays Pvt Ltd’s representative office in Brazil has been operating there for nearly 50 years. Guides are carefully selected to suit each guest, all with in-depth knowledge, pride and appreciation for their home country. Each itinerary is tailor-made: guests travel at their own pace with their own chosen companion, with their own guide and driver. And because hand-picked guides have such broad interests and experiences, Vassa Holidays guests can follow their own passions or interests.

View sprawling Rio from the base of Christ the Redeemer statue on Corcovado. Immerse yourself in the arts precinct of Santa Teresa and dine with renowned painter Favoretto in his colonial home. Dance to the Latin beat of Olodum drums in Salvador da Bahia. Feel the gentle spray from the spectacular Iguaçu Falls. Go horse-riding in the Pantanal looking for jaguars and anaconda. Stay in a jungle lodge on the Amazon. See the astonishing opera houses in Belém and Manaus. Sip caipirinhas and sunbathe like a local on Copacabana.

BEST TIME TO TRAVEL

February/March: The world-famous Carnival (40 days before Easter) in Rio and Salvador with flamboyant all-night music and dance parades. June-October: For excellent surfing on the south coast. September to March: The Iguaçu Falls are at their most exuberant. October: Cirio d Nazaré, the largest religious festival in Brazil where a statue of the Virgin Mary is paraded through the streets in a twoweek long festival. December 31: Celebrate New Year in Rio – party central! Weatherwise: Brazil is an expansive country, with huge temperature variations from north to south. The Amazon jungle is best May to July, Rio de Janeiro from September to May and the northeast, season from mid-April to September.