Brazil is vast, different and impossible to ignore. To someone remotely interested in nature, climate and the environment, it is the Brazilian Amazon might come first to mind; as it did for the team at Aqua-Firma, who have been exploring some of its remotest corners for the sake of travel, research and conservation since the late 1980s.

To those keenest on wildlife, the Planet's largest wetlands of the Pantanal is a top draw; especially by those keen to see Latin America’s top predator: the jaguar. Species diversity may not be as high in the Pantanal as it is in rainforest, but its openness makes it a lot easier to see jaguars, as well as other signature wildlife such as anteaters, giant river otters, capybara and more.

Scenically, Brazil doesn't get much more dramatic than Iguaçu Falls. It's not just the height of these falls which makes them so impressive. They spread for 4km and consist of around 275 individual falls. In between is lush tropical vegetation which is a rich and beautiful extension of the Atlantic Coast Rainforest system. Alas, there is now only a small percentage of this forest remaining, but we can take you to explore this on the Argentine side; and closer to the coast northwest of Rio where the beautiful Golden Lion Tamarin has been brought back from the edge of extinction.

Deforestation is, regrettably, an image which cannot escape the mind when we think of Brazil. On the one hand you can be flying over forest that seemingly has no end; yet on the other you can stand in the midst of an industrial scale cattle ranch or soya plantation, wondering whether Amazon rainforest ever really existed. The incredible scale of the Amazon in Brazil is such that huge untouched sections do still exist and the wildlife there can be incredibly diverse. A third of the world’s 310 species of monkey live in Brazil. Large patches of untouched forest suit top predators such as the monkey eating Harpy Eagle, which need large home ranges to support themselves. Amazon peoples also need large areas of their own land and the likes of the Xingu people of Central Brazil have legally accepted claims over thousands of square kilometres of forest.

Rio de Janeiro can conjure plenty of images all of its own: Sugar Loaf Mountain rising above the city mist; carnivals, fiestas, music, exotic beach culture and football played on sand, bare footed and bare chested, or in the unmissable green and gold national strip. Cities get bigger still in Sao Paolo; and the capital city of Brasilia is a world landmark for braveness of architecture and planning. Cobbled streets of coastal town of Paraty provide some of the country’s strongest links with its Portuguese colonial past; a haven too for gastronomy, vibrant bars and cafes; Ilha Grande and other stunning islands whose seas ebb and flow in and out of Paraty’s Caribbean streets.

Lesser-known natural highlights of Brazil include its savannahs. Like the Pantanal, openness can help you to see larger mammals such as Giant Anteaters. Other residents are the so-called Einstein monkey, which are Bearded Capuchins who use hammer rocks to crush palm nuts on a sandstone anvil. Further north, on the border of Venezuela, is an area of tabletop mountains. The largest of these is Roraima which at its base is tropical in climate. Its peak is a deeply wind and rain eroded, who unique wild gave inspiration to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's book The Lost World; and the Pixar cartoon film Up. And then at Lençóis Maranhenses we find a landscape of white sand dunes and blue lakes.

Aqua-Firma can help you to experience all of the scenes of Brazil. Click HERE to get in touch.