Rio Grande Do Sul
Rio Grande Do Sul has always been fiercely independent. Being Brazil’s southernmost state, it was well beyond the central government’s rule during colonial times, giving rise to the fabled gaúcho, who fearlessly roamed the land, living as he pleased. Men in small villages still dress like traditional gaúchos, and horsemanship is revered and often displayed in rodeos. The countryside is as big and beautiful as it is diverse. The pampas fan out in every direction, seemingly forever. The 300-mile coast is all magnificent beach, dotted with chic resorts. Alpine villages nestle in the mountains, the handiwork of German immigrants who settled here in the mid-1800s. The Italians soon followed, starting what has become one of Brazil’s premier wine-producing regions. Rio Grande Do Sol even boasts Latin America’s only Tibetan Buddhist temple complex, located near the village of Três Coroas.