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17. Brazil1 No country ignites the Western imagination as Brazil does. For hundreds of years it has symbolized a primordial, tropical paradise. From the mad passion of Carnival2 to the vastness of the dark Amazon3 , Brazil is a country of mythical proportions. Roughly the size of the US , Brazil is a huge country encompassing nearly half of South America , and bordering on most of the continent s other nations Ecuador and Chile are the exceptions. After 40 years of internal migration and population growth, Brazil is also an urban country; four out of every five Brazilians live in a city. Sao Paulo, with more than 17 million inhabitants, is the world s second most populous city. Brazil s population is clustered along the Atlantic coast, and much of the country, including the massive Amazon Basin, remains scarcely populated and hard to access. For most, the Brazilian journey begins in Rio de Janeiro4. One of the world s great cities, Rio has developed a highly advanced culture of pleasure. It revolves around the famous beaches of Copacabana, and is fueled by the music of samba 5 and the athleticism of soccer. This hedonism reaches its climax every February or March, during the Carnival five days of revelry, unrivaled by any other party on the globe. Rio de Janeiro state is blessed with some of the country s best beaches. Inland, the coastal mountains rise rapidly from lush, green, tropical forest, culminating in spectacular peaks. The mountains are punctuated by national parks where you can enjoy Brazil s best hiking and climbing. | 
