High mountains, cold winters, sometimes a snow shower on the higher elevations, blonde children, a lot of beef, miles and miles of wineyards and it's not Europe. It's Brazil.

The South is unique in many ways, its history, geography, people, traditions and culture. A melting pot of Germans, Italians, Eastern Europeans, Portuguese, Africans, Jewish, Arabics and Russians all that with a Spanish flavor that comes from the Pampas, region inhabited by Gauchos which their ancestors fought in bloody border wars between Spain and Portugal and most recently in the 1800's on the Farrapos War that called for freedom to all slaves in Brazil as wells as the separation of the south from the Portuguese Empire.

Today the South is one of the two most prosperous regions of Brazil with a strong industrial output, a diverse and powerfull agricultural machine and mighty cattle breeding business.

The City of Curitiba is the capital of Parana State, a charming futuristic metropolis with many restaurants, an opera house built of still, iron and glass, one of the most efficient public transportation systems in the world and a population that is concious about the environment.

Estrada da Graciosa, a highway built in 1873 from its original historic predecessor, The Colonial Way, it was the only way for more than a century between Curitiba and the Atlantic Coast of Parana.

This road offers breath-taking views allowing visitors to admire the contours of the Serra do Mar, the exuberance of the Atlantic Forest, Paranagua Bay and the rest of the coast. Graciosa is located only 23 miles from Curitiba.

For the more adventurous, a hike along the historic trail offers the opportunity to get a closer look at nature.
The Historic Trail (Caminho histórico) was open between 1625 and 1654 by indians, miners and was paved with stones by slaves . It's a place for natural beauty with rivers and waterfalls, sorrounded by green valleys and mountains.

Paranagua is a very important port in Brazil with second largest volume of exports in the country and is also the end of the line for the Curitiba-Paranagua Railroad.

Guaraquecaba is the live portrait of environmental preservation. This area is inhabited by fisherman and wild animals, some of these animals make part of the list of endangerous species. This is one of the most preserved segments of Atlantic Forest in Brazil. The communities of Caicaras (native people of the region) are used to the expressions of amazement stamped on the visitor's faces due to so much ecological generosity. Guaraquecaba is located about 110 miles from Curitiba by car, to get there from Curitiba take BR-277 until you reach the 55 Km mark, then take PR-408 (Morretes/Antonina), after take PR-340 (Antonina-Cacatu) and at last PR-405 (Cacatu-Guaraquecaba). By boat from Paranagua, a three hour trip is safe, more comfortable and the scenery is incomparable.

Superagui is nothing less than a zoo without bars and gates. Make sure that you visit the Superagui National Park on the first day. The park is one of the top five more important ecosystems in the world. It's home of rares species of monkeys that are in danger of extinction, parrots, aligators as well as an exotic and colorful flora, wild beaches and virgin segments of Atlantic Forest. The island offers modest but confortable accomodations and spending the night there can be interesting. There are no automobiles in the island.

The most popular beaches in Florianopolis are Praia da Joaquina, famous for the Brazilian Surf Championship in January, Praia do Santinho, the island's longest beach, almost totally undeveloped, hidden by a pine forest. On the North coast the Canasvieiras Beach and Jurere. Another interesting spot located on the center of the island is the Conceicao Lagoon (Lagoa da Conceicao).

South of Florianopolis

Garopaba is located about 60 miles south of Florianopolis, also a great surf spot not overrun by tourist, a place where you can still see the local population in their natural way of life.

Laguna is further south of Garopaba, after the beaches of Imbituba and Praia do Rosa also on the BR 101 corridor. Laguna has an active fishing industry and it's the center of tourism on the south coast of the state. Laguna is also an historic city and a stroll through the center of the town looking at the many well preserved colonial buildings can be a quite interesting photographic essay.

The largest city of the southern region, located on the north side of the Patos Lagoon and the Guaiba River and just an hour and a half from the Serra Gaucha and the Northern Coast of the state.

There are many different places to visit in Porto Alegre, great shopping centers, traditional churrascarias that are nothing less than all you can eat BBQ restaraunts with the best of the gaucho cuisine, a concept completely unkown to most first time visitors , many of these restaurants are Centers for Gaucho Traditions (CTG, Centro de Tradicoes Gauchas) with folkloric dances and live music. The city is sourrounded by hills with many parks and trees, large avenues that cross the city from north to south and from east to west.

The Gaucho lifestyle is filled with strolls along the Redencao Park, leisure time seating on a square sipping on chimarrao, the traditional tea enjoyed by many, or just killing time drinking choppe (Brazilian draft beer) on an open air bar.

Gauchos enjoy spending the weekends and holidays on the coast during the summer months. The beaches are just an hour from Porto Alegre and they are a great place for relaxation and spending time with the whole family.

The most popular beaches in Rio Grande do Sul are located on ther north coast of the state. Tramandai, Capao da Canoa and Torres. These towns receive tourists from all over the state, Argentina and Uruguay as well.

Chacacterized by the large sand dunes, lagoons, rice fields and tree farming. The home of Lagoa do Peixe National Park, a sanctuary for migrating birds from all over North, Central and South America. Unespoiled, beautiful and of hard acess until 2001 when the "road from hell" called by the truck drivers, was finally paved.

Just before the town of Chui, the southermost place in Brazil another national park, this time is the Taim Wetlands, a much smaller version of Pantanal but a great display of wild life and a paradise for off-road enthusiastics.

A mix of farm land, a large urban and industrial center, wineyards, canyons, waterfalls, rivers and more farm land. The highlands of Rio Grande do Sul.

The third largest urban area on the state is the city of Caxias do Sul, Home of many factories, heavy farm equipment manufacturers and buses, wine, clothes and other industries. Caxias is also know for its famous Festa da Uva (Grapes' Festival) celebrated yearly in January. Bento Goncalves a few miles away is also know for the Fenavinho (National Wine Festival).

Perhaps the most visited sites by tourists in the Serra Gaucha are the towns of Gramado and Canela. Gramado is home of the Brazilian Movie Festival, the Festival of Lights during Christmas season, many conventions and other gatherings. Canela is know for its natural beauty and can be visited one the same day when visiting Gramado. Don't forget to drop by the Caracol Falls when visiting Canela.

Another main attraction located on the highlands is the Parque Nacional Aparados da Serra. This region can be acessed in many different ways. From Porto Alegre and from other places located on the Serra. The best way is to drive to the town of Sao Francisco de Paula, and from there to Cambara do Sul, the gateway to the Canyons. From the north coast, just off BR 101 there's a way to get to the Town of Tainhas, the highway starts in the town of Terra de Areia (between Capao da Canoa and Torres off BR 101), just follow the signs to San Francisco de Paula. From Santa Catarina take BR 101 south watch for a tiny sign pointing to the town of Praia Grande towards the mountains, just before the Rio Grande do Sul border, from Praia Grande follow the dirt road to Cambara do Sul. The park it is located before the City of Cambara do Sul.

It's worth spending time at these beautiful sites. Itaimbezinho and Fortaleza Canyon are the two principal canyons on the mountain range. There are trails ready to be explored, where the breath-taking scenery of magnificent waterfalls and cliffs dominate the landscpe. If you like you can explore the canyons from the inside. It's highly recommended that you do that with a guide. The town of Praia Grande on the Santa Catarina side offers guided tours as well as the town of Cambara do Sul. Other places to visit in the area are the towns of Sao Joaquim in Santa Catarina and Sao Jose dos Ausentes in Rio Grande do Sul, these two places register the lowest temperatures in the country during the winter and offen experience snow fall in July and August.