Brazilians aren't natural adventurers. When Mackenzie was trekking to the Pacific, Brazilians were sticking resolutely to the seashore. When post-war Britain watched in wonder as Mallory ascended Everest, post-war Brazil stared in awe at that new French invention, the bikini. And while other northern adventurers cast about for higher or more difficult peaks to climb, Brazilians devoted their attention to shrinking down those scraps of swimsuit material to the minimum required by decency. As a result, for most of the 20th-century, Brazilians have largely stuck to beaches and beer and samba, a tried and true triple rhythm of contentment.

Indeed, only in the past few years, thanks largely to foreigners toting mountain bikes, climbing gear, hang gliders, and folding kayaks, have Brazilians looked up and discovered that theirs is a land both vast and alluringly beautiful. Rising up from the beach through forested mountainsides, Brazil then settles to a broad plateau, cut by rivers, sprinkled with rocky highlands, girdled with caves, and covered in wetlands and forest grander, more varied, and less spoiled than anywhere else on earth.

True, Brazil is not a land of majestic heights. Though the mountains of the coast rise to a respectable 8,200 feet, the true joys of exploring in Brazil involve diving beneath the ocean's surface, penetrating a limestone cavern, descending a river or mile-deep canyon, or transversing the famous Amazon, truly a Heart of Darkness-type experience.

For visitors, the very newness of adventure travel in Brazil offers special opportunities, as well as special challenges. The road to a launch site may be washed out in six places and only loosely covered in gravel, but then there's a good chance you're just the fourth person to try this stretch of river. While Brazil itself can be intimidating and mysterious, its people are not. They're warm and welcoming and, now squarely on the adventure track, are more than qualified to take you exploring. Don't miss out.