There's far more to Brazil than Rio, carnival, the Iguaçu Falls and the Amazon.  South America's giant is a continent not a country - big enough to swallow-up Australia, Germany and Italy with space left over. There are beaches backed with dune-deserts, tropical islands fringed with coral, table-top mountains honeycombed with caves, sapphire-blue rivers with bubble-gum pink dolphins. In the mouth of the Amazon is an island as big as Denmark where the local police patrol on buffalo back. Glittering with baroque churches, Salvador in Bahia state has more colonial buildings than any other city in the Americas. São Paulo city has indigenous villages in its suburbs and over 1.6 million ethnic Japanese. Pernambuco state alone has more musical styles than Cuba. In Minas Gerais state they play 19th-century English street cricket. Santa Catarina hosts the world's largest bierfest outside Munich, where local Brazilians speak German and wear lederhosen. You can't see it all. But this talk will add more options to your travel menu.

Alex is one of the authors (along with his wife Gardênia) of several Footprint Guides to Brazil.

Pelourinho - World Heritage listed historic centre of Salvador

Beach, looking towards Rio de Janeiro

Traditional transport on the Amazon

Commercial district, Brooklin, São Paulo

Pristine waterfall, Serras do Ibitipoca, Minas Gerais

Historic Portuguese colonial centre of Paraty town and quays, Costa Verde