Places Mathias Van de Velde Wants to Go

Once a year, ambitious surfers can ride the world's largest river.

A trio of waterfalls inside the world’s largest urban forest.

This attraction is devoted to the wonders of steam power and features a replica of one of its most public disasters.

Ella Fitzgerald, opera singer Enrico Caruso, and dancer Isadora Duncan all performed in this lavish, supposedly haunted theater.

These small, spectacular monkeys are making a comeback after deforestation destroyed much of their rainforest habitat.

This unique bird reserve sits within an important fragment of Brazil's Atlantic rainforest.

This small Brazilian museum honors the work of a German biologist who studied the jungles for decades.

This magnificent tree towering over the Atlantic rainforest is one of the oldest and largest in Brazil.

This necropolis is home to eclectic funerary art and is the final resting place for much of the city's nobility.

In the Manduri reserve of Sao Paulo, you can see the endangered black-horned capuchin monkey up close.

Brasilia's oldest newsstand is sheltered by a wish-granting tunnel-tree.

What killed this humpback whale is a mystery, but its remains have become legendary.

A self built castle built by a salt worker in Brazil.

The preserved home of the first settler of "the most German town in Brazil."

A puppy slum that protects canines from the cruelties of the human slums.

This anthropological museum offers a glimpse into the lives of the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon River Basin.

The only restaurant serving indigenous foods from the Amazon.

This unique 230-foot waterfall is a natural beauty hidden within the vast wild landscape.

This striking, two-toned confluence of rivers is visible from space.

Moss-covered sculptures fill this small Brazilian gorge.

Hidden in plain sight, this lush garden sits atop one of the most iconic buildings in São Paulo.

This park feels like a lush little jungle full of wildlife nestled within São Paulo.

A snake farm famous for its venemous varieties.

A stunning Catholic cathedral built by a curve-loving communist in Brazil’s newly created capital.