Ilhabela, Brazil

Officially named Ilha de São Sebastião (St. Sebastian Island), but commonly just called Ilhabela, the “Beautiful Island”, just outside the coast of São Paulo state. A short fifteen-minute boat or ferry trip brings you to the relatively small island with a population of about 32 000, witch during holiday season quadruples. For most people that comes to Ilhabela do it for the beaches, sailing and surfing, there is also a lot of hiking trails in the mountains where seven tops reaches above 1000 meters

Ilhabela also has a history of being a hiding place of pirates and privateers, and has the largest graveyard of shipwrecks in whole Brazil, making it a paradise for scuba divers. We visited the island about ten years ago.

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Curitiba to Paranaguá by train

One of the few scenic train routes in Brazil goes from Curitiba and winds its way trough the mountain range of Serra do Mar and down to the port city of  Paranaguá in the state of Paraná in southern Brazil.

We did the trip in 2007, but now it seems like the train stops at the historic city of Morretes, about two thirds on the way to Paranaguá. Highly recommended way to feel and smell the Atlantic Rainforest.

Campos do Jordão – Brazil

At 1628 meters, Campos do Jordão, is the highest city in Brazil. The city is located in the east of the state of São Paulo on the border of the state of Minas Gerais. At this level you may experience some few degrees minus in the winter, although there is no snow to be seen even at the nearby mountains. Some of the wealthiest families in the state has a holiday residence in the city, and in the vacation times the city’s population more than quadruples.

The city has the nickname: “Brazilian Switzerland” due to strong architectural influences from the European alps area. We visited the city about ten years ago.

Paraty, Rio de Janeiro – Brazil

Paraty is located at the Costa Verde (Green Coast) in the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The village was established in 1597 and after the discovery of gold in the mountains of the state of Minas Gerias, Paraty became an export harbor for the gold. Caminho do Ouro (The Gold Trail) its a 1200 km trail linking Paraty to Diamantina (via Oro Preto and Tiradentes).

As you see in some of the photos, water comes into the streets with the high tide. It was done on purpose, constructed as to make the water clean the streets. We visited the city on a humid and cloudy day in 2008.

Museu do Ipiranga, São Paulo, Brazil

The full name is “The Museu Paulista of the University of São Paulo/Museu Paulista da Universidade de São Paulo”, but are commonly called Museu do Ipiranga or simply Museu Paulista. The building was built as a memorial of the declaration of independence and it was opened as a museum in 1895. The museum has a collection of more than 125 000 items mostly from the São Paulo region, but also from rest of Brazil.

Unfortunately we where not allowed to take photos inside.

Basílica do Santuário Nacional de Nossa Senhora Aparecida (Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida), Brazil

As a follow up on the previous post about Notre Dame, here is another impressive catholic church that is located in the city Aparecida just outside Rodovia Presidente Dutra (BR-116, the main highway between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro) in the state of São Paulo in Brazil.

The exterior may not be as interesting as the Gothic cathedrals, but this is actually one of the largest church buildings in the world. And by “largest” I mean floor area. With its 12 000 m², it’s only surpassed by St. Peters Basilica in Vatican City. Compared to lots of churches that are surrounded by tall buildings in cities, this one being in the open, makes it quite visible in the landscape.

Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil

What an amazing place! We’ve been wanting to make this post for a long time, but for different reasons its been put on hold. Iguazu Falls in the Parana state of Brazil is a well kept secret, at least for us in Norway. At the time we went there, I’ve never heard anybody talk about it. Now, more than 10 years later, I’ve only talked to a couple that mention something like, isn’t there a waterfall on the border between Brazil and Argentina? Sure thing it is! And here are our photos of this natural marvel!

The Iguazu National Park is on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.

Itaipu Dam, Parana River, Paraguay/Brazil (Barragem de Itaipu, Rio Paraná, Paraguay/Brasil)

The Itaipu Dam is located on the Parana River on the border between Paraguay and Brazil, and its a joint venture between those two countries. The dam is 196 meters high and 7919 meters long, and has an installed capacity of 14 GW, with a record producing year in 2016 with staggering 103 TWh (103 098 366 MWh), witch even surpasses the Chinese Three Gorges Dam in annual energy production.