Sitting within the tropics, Brazil is something of an all-year round destination with temperatures rarely dip below 20°C (68°F), apart from in the mountains and southern regions. The climate varies from hot and dry in the arid interior to humid and sticky in the tropical rainforests of the Amazon jungle. The Pantanal and Amazon areas in the north of the country tend to get very hot during the summer, reaching highs of around 40°C (104°F).
Coastal Brazil tends to be hot and sticky for most of the year; the best time to visit is generally from March to November during the dry season. It can get cold in the south and in the mountains during the winter months, with temperatures sometimes hitting 0°C (32°F). Rainy seasons occur from January to April in the north, April to July in the northeast and November to March in the Rio/São Paulo area.
Required clothing:As the weather is generally on the warmer side, bring clothes made from lightweight natural fabrics such as cottons and linens which you can layer up. Waterproofs may be needed if visiting during the rainy season. Bring warm clothing if visiting the south during winter (June to August), whilst the extremely humid climate of the Amazon region demands specialist clothing for any treks or activity tourism. Sunlight around the tropics is extremely strong and sunglasses are recommended.
Brazil covers almost half of the South American continent and it is bordered to the north, west and south by all South American countries except Chile and Ecuador; to the east is the Atlantic ocean. The country is topographically relatively flat; at no point do the highlands exceed 3,000m (10,000ft). Over 60% of the country is a plateau; the remainder consists of plains. The River Plate Basin (the confluence of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers, both of which have their sources in Brazil) in the far south is more varied, higher and less heavily forested.
North of the Amazon are the Guiana Highlands, partly forested, partly stony desert. The Brazilian Highlands of the interior, between the Amazon and the rivers of the south, form a vast tableland, the Mato Grosso, from which rise mountains in the southwest that form a steep protective barrier from the coast called the Great Escarpment, breached by deeply cut river beds. The population is concentrated in the southeastern states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The city of São Paulo has a population of over 12 million, while over 7 million people live in the city of Rio de Janeiro.
