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Top 7 Experiences In Sao Paulo And Rio de Janeiro

Swati Talwar

Last updated: Apr 3, 2017

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Football fans the world over await with baited breath, the opening ceremony of FIFA 2014 in Brazil. While they go berserk with all the pending excitement, we give you the antidote to soothe your nerves. Presenting the top 7 experiences in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro:

1. Coffee Plantations

Brazil is the largest producer of coffee in the world. The hi-tech and highly mechanized farms make the country a coffee powerhouse to reckon with. If you are looking for a unique experience (and if you have the luxury of time) we suggest you take the coffee tour through Brazil. One such suggested route would be starting from the Sao Paulo state - Espírito Santo do Pinhal - Mogiana Valley - Minas Gerais (the largest coffee area in the world) - Varginha - Belo Horizonte - Espírito Santo - Vitória - Linhares - ending with Rio.

Miles of the best coffee in the world | Photo Credit: Sahadev Balakrishna

2. Fantastic Roads

Ever dreamed of making that road trip without the pot holes and usual jarring of nerves? Your dream can come true while driving through Sao Paulo and Rio - a stretch of almost 1,500 kilometres with all the important amenities (restaurants, signages et al) in place. Enjoy the gorgeous views and don't worry about animals jumping out of nowhere to test your reflexes!

Take a drive now!

3. Food

All through Brazil and especially on the highways make a pit stop for churrascaria. These are restaurants where meat is cooked churrasco (barbecue) style.The plate is weighed after you've finished loading the choice of food and you pay according to the weight of the plate. Isn't that unique!

Salivating yet?

4. Supermodels

Think Brazil, think supermodels. Most of the supermodels belong to the south of the country, to the beautiful city of Florianópolis. Owing to their German ancestry, the people here are taller than the average population.

5. Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo or Sampa as it's called by the locals, is the largest city in the southern hemisphere. Trendy and highly fashionable, it has one of the largest Japanese populations (outside of Japan) and a high percentage of Italian descendants. Sao Paulo is a financial capital while Rio is the quintessential party town of the country.

The very fashionable city of Sao Paulo

6. Rio

Mind blowing vistas from every angle make this a dream destination. Mountains, rainforests, beaches, ocean and stunning people all in one place. The best place to feel the energy of this town is staying at the Copacabana beach - the 4 kilometres of Atlantic Avenue will be an experience of a lifetime! The famous hotels and restaurants are all lined along the Atlantic Avenue.

DJ, play the music! |Photo Credit: Sahadev Balakrishna

A short turn from Copacabana beach and you land in Ipanema beach (remember the famous Sinatra song The Girl from Ipanema?) and continues to become Leblon beach (the up-market neighbourhood for Rio fashionistas). The patterns on the cobblestones change, differentiating the three beaches. These are part of the souvenir memorabilia found on T-shirts, cups etc.

Lie down and relax | Photo Credit: Sahadev Balakrishna

7. Christ the Redeemer

You can't come to Brazil and not see the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue. It offers a spectacular 360 degree views of the mountains, beaches and the ocean. Christ the Redeemer is located in the Atlantic Rainforest, the National Park in the middle of Rio.

130 feet of faith | Photo Credit: Sahadev Balakrishna

Pack your bags and get ready to travel to Brazil! Till then, enjoy a chilled glass of Brahma.

The travelogue has been contributed by Sahadev Balakrishna who visited Brazil and Colombia as part of the Planters’ Association tour to coffee countries. He lives on his plantation in Chikmagalur, Karnataka and loves to travel to all nooks and corners of the globe.

Comments

Kaveer | on 03 October 2018

Hi Swati, We will be travelling to Sao Paulo in November. And we are pondering a road trip from Sao Paulo and rio via the scenic route via Paraty and Angra do Reis. Can you tell me if it is good to travel via road and how is driving through the two cities. i have read many reviews that say the opposite and that we should not be driving here. Please can you share your experience and advice as per your point 2. Any other tips for this route will be great Thanks Kaveer