The only way to truly have your senses awaken is to travel to a different place. Getting lost in a completely new country can help you discover yourself better and become aware of things you’ve never knew before. For instance, it was during my trip to Argentina that I fell in love with tango, What hadn’t even cross my mind until then, is something I love doing now. I’m even regularly taking part in local dance competitions.
So, if you too want to let your guard down and unleash a different side of you, there’s no better place to do so than in the vibrant South America where lands of cultural and spiritual richness collide. And being the two largest countries there, Brazil and Argentina are the heart of South America. Since they are neighbouring countries, Brazil and Argentina tours are very popular choices for many tourists. If you’re planning to go on one, here’s what you can expect to find.
Of course, different Brazil and Argentina tours include visiting different places. But there are some places that have a regular spot on their travel itineraries. What you can bet on is that most of them include the popular tourist cities Rio de Janeiro, Cidade Maravilhosa, and Buenos Aries.
Perhaps Rio de Janeiro was robbed of the title “capital city of Brazil” in 1960, but today it’s definitely the Brazilian capital of tourism. When there, you can expect to tour the many iconic tourist attractions from Cristo Redentor at the Corcovado to seeing Pao de Acucar from a cable car, and take a break from sightseeing at Prainha Beach, a relatively un-crowded alternative to Copacabana an Ipanema.
Wherever you go to in Brazil, whether Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia or Sao Paolo, friendly and warm people are going to enthusiastically greet you at every corner. Whatever you do, make sure to also visit their temples – the stadiums where football has a status of a religion, and football stars are considered gods. Brazil is a country with a developed cultural life on a backdrop of chaos, and this is nowhere more evident than in Sao Paolo with its many art galleries and historical museums on streets completely covered with graffiti.
Many Argentinian trips start with a breathtaking visit to the majestic Iguazu Falls. The chain of hundreds of waterfalls spreading out for nearly three kilometres is close to the border with Brazil. The Igazu Falls are part of a natural park with a rainforest rich with some endemic animal and plant species. Argentina has other natural gems too. If you were amazed by Brazil’s Amazon and Pantanal, you will be left in awe from Argentina’s Patagonia, where you can go climbing, trekking, and cycling, even take a horse ride in the regions where gauchos reside.
A central part of your Argentinian trip is going to be Buenos Aires, where you can visit the grandiose Teatro Colon, deemed the third best opera house in the world, the centre of Latin American art that is the MALBA museum. If after taking a big cultural bite you’re still left hungry, there are many small and charming restaurants where you can enjoy the traditional Argentinian dishes like pastelitos, milhojas, or churros.