The Atlas Obscura Guide To Brazil

130 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Brazil

Updated August 22, 2023

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Unusual Attractions in Brazil

The Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading

This stunning Brazilian library contains the largest collection of Portuguese texts outside of Portugal itself.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Largo do Boticário

Crumbling remnant of Rio's colonial past tucked behind Corcovado mountain in the neighborhood of Cosme Velho.

Vale da Lua

Alto Paraíso de Goiás, Brazil

Vale da Lua

After millennia of erosion by sand and churning water this Brazilian valley now looks like a lunar fantasy.

The extravagant crypts at the São Paulo Cathedral.

São Paulo, Brazil

Crypt of the São Paulo Cathedral

The crypts are so large they're basically their own underground church.

Gruta Do Lago Azul

Bonito, Brazil

Gruta Do Lago Azul (Blue Lake Grotto)

Part of one of the largest flooded cavities on the planet, and littered with prehistoric animal bones.

Inside the tree

Parnamirim, Brazil

World's Largest Cashew Tree

You feel like you're in a forest, but you're actually walking amidst the branches and trunks of a single giant tree.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Parque Lage

Beautiful public park off the beaten path and away from tourists.

Termite mound at night

Vila de São Jorge, Brazil

Glowing Termite Mounds of Emas National Park

These termites have an large and deadly abode—impressive by day, dazzling by night.

See All 130 Things To Do in Brazil

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Brazil

Inside the tree

Parnamirim, Brazil

World's Largest Cashew Tree

You feel like you're in a forest, but you're actually walking amidst the branches and trunks of a single giant tree.

Some rights reserved by Kai Hendry

Santos, Brazil

Brazil's Coffee Palace

This majestic building, where Brazil's coffee brokers once bought and sold beans, now houses a coffee museum.

Maniwara ants are used in several Biatüwi dishes.

Manaus, Brazil

Biatüwi

The only restaurant serving indigenous foods from the Amazon.

The Capela Nossa Senhora das Neves

Bento Gonçalves, Brazil

Capela Nossa Senhora das Neves

After a terrible drought, townspeople used wine to build this church.

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Architectural Oddities 17

Animals 16

Art 15

Museums And Collections 12

Nature 11

Churches 9

Collections 9

Plants 9

Sacred Spaces 9

Water 8

History 7

Shops 6

Places To Stay 2

Brazil Leaderboard

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has been to Puppet Cabinet at Monteiro Lobato Library
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wants to go to Monumento Mãe Preta
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Stories About Brazil

Of the 151 species they studied, all of them, including this tree frog, Dendropsophus rhodopeplus (shown under blue light), displayed some level of fluorescence.

Biologists Threw a Fluorescent Frog Rave in the Amazon, for Science

Turns out many of the frogs glow, maybe to communicate.

by Roxanne Hoorn

August 22, 2023

Podcast: Snake Island

Off-limits and full of venomous pit vipers, this rock has certainly earned its nickname.

by The Podcast Team

August 14, 2023

Podcast: The Coffee Palace

A majestic building was once the center of the coffee trade.

by The Podcast Team

All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura

Puzzle Monday: Official Language, Social Weapon

February 20, 2023

Multispectral imaging depicts destruction of the Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland. In this map, reds show healthy foliage along the Rio São Lourenço, yellows show stressed plant life, while blues and blacks indicate where the forest has died.

Through an Artist’s Eye, Scientific Tools Help Tell Vital Stories

Striking work by photographer Richard Mosse shows how merging art and technology can cut through dry data.

December 27, 2022

Can garlic help you win a soccer match?

5 Must-Read Football (or Soccer) Stories

Who needs the World Cup when we have so many con men, trendsetters, superstitions, and architectural rivalries?

December 6, 2022

Dom Pedro's 224-year-old, 20-pound heart was sent from Portugal to Brazil for the 200th anniversary of the country's independence.

Why a 224-Year-Old Human Heart Is Touring Brazil

This piece of Dom Pedro I, who declared Brazil's independence, is causing controversy in two countries.

by Dania Rodrigues

August 25, 2022

A debilitated caiman is carried by GRAD leader Carla Sassi, on a bridge in Poconé, State of Mato Grosso, Brazil.

When Disaster Strikes in Brazil, This Pioneering Veterinarian Jumps Into Action

Carla Sassi is helping to develop new ways to save the country's animals from peril.

by João Velozo

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