Northeast Brazil

Brazil's northeastern coast, from Salvador, Recife–Olinda, Fernando de Noronha and the Lençóis Maranhenses dunes: Afro-Brazilian culture and sunny beaches all year.

Brazil's Northeast (Nordeste) is made up of nine states, including Bahia, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Ceará and Maranhão. It was the first part of Brazil settled by the Portuguese, with deep African cultural influence, a long coastline and warm weather year-round. Highlights: Salvador (the UNESCO-listed Pelourinho old town, capoeira, acarajé, Candomblé religion and Carnival) and nearby Morro de São Paulo island, plus inland Bahia's Chapada Diamantina National Park (the town of Lençóis, waterfalls and caves); Recife and the World Heritage colonial town of Olinda, and the natural pools of Porto de Galinhas; Maceió and Alagoas's coral-reef beaches, and Maragogi, the "Brazilian Caribbean"; out at sea, the Fernando de Noronha archipelago (a World Heritage site with Brazil's most beautiful beaches and dolphins); in northern Ceará, Fortaleza and the kitesurfing village of Jericoacoara; and Maranhão's Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (rainwater lagoons among white dunes). How to do it: pick two or three bases and stay 3–5 days in each, for a total of 10–14 days. Domestic flights are the main way between cities, with buses and 4WD vehicles within each region. Noronha charges a daily environmental fee and limits visitor numbers; be careful about safety in cities at night and don't carry valuables.

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