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From Curitiba to the Atlantic coast, a small sample of Brazil's environmental diversity in an off the beaten path tourist region.

It would be unfair to the rest of the world to coin Brazil the Land of Diversity, but I feel almost constrained to do it. Being born in the southern part of the country gave me two different perspectives of its vast magnificence. The first one was of a Southerner whose perception of the well-known tropical paradise below the equator was blurred and distant. I grew up in a Brazil unrecognized by the rest of the world for being too different from their expectations: cold, European, gray.

The other perspective came when, as a traveler, I had set feet and senses upon this idealized image. Upon arrival in Rio de Janeiro for the first time, I could relate to it as the Cariocas (the Rio Natives) did. I was 16. From then on, even Brazil's south looked more familiar, sunnier, happier. I realized how much I had been missing because of the incomplete image of my homeland. The South is very rich in scenery too, and its mountains and beaches are genuinely Brazilian.

Southern Brazil is one of the world's greatest regions of biodiversity, found in the colorful wilderness of the Atlantic Forest and along the sea coast, as well as on the so-called western coast of Paraná State, which is, in fact, a river estuary coast where the Iguaçu Falls and National Park stand.

Curitiba, the capital of Paraná State (the northernmost state of the Southern Region) has long been visited by people on their way to Foz do Iguaçu who are so eager to reach the Falls that they miss a unique Brazilian city with an excellent tourism infrastructure and a character of its own. Not to mention the neighboring stretch of the Atlantic Forest, which is the biggest in the south, from the mountain ranges (Serra do Mar) to the coast. Curitibanos like myself know better and never miss the opportunity to drive the Road of Graciosa down the mountains, as views of the lush forest and sea coast reveal themselves, passing through historic cities, before reaching the nearby coast and its islands. Nothing that different from the idyllic image of Brazil's tropical paradise we all know so well, but if you did add Curitiba, the image will be a fuller one.

Curitiba

Jean Aimes is a French engineer who lives in Curitiba. Like many of his countrymen, he came to the city to work in a French car company. And like most of them, he has only one complaint: the temperature.

Curitiba is the coldest capital in Brazil, with lows reaching negative Celsius figures during the winter - a rare event by Brazilian standards. According to Jean, the problem is not the cold itself, but that Brazilian buildings are designed for hot weather. Building materials such as ceramic tile and brick can't keep the warmth in, and central heating is an foreign concept.

That doesn't stop Jean when he wants to ride his bike through the city and its most treasured element: the parks. Being an enthusiast of outdoor sports and aware of environmental issues, he was happy to discover when he arrived in 1995 that Curitiba is big, but still has one of the highest "green-area per capita" rates in the world.

Its population is estimated at about 1.5 million inhabitants, nearly one fifth of Paraná's. It is highly regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in Brazil and is famous for its environmental-safe policies on recycling, well-planned urban system, efficient mass transportation system and high air quality.

Standing at 3,000 feet above sea level, the city was founded in the second half of the 17th century. Since the 1800's, Curitiba has attracted immigrants of Slav, German, Italian and Japanese origins. During the 20th century, it became a prosperous capital, but that didn't change the comfortable life style commonly found in small towns. Curitiba prospered from its role as commercial and processing center for the expanding agricultural and ranch areas in the interior of the state. That's hardly what the city is known for today. The arts found a progressive ground to flourish there, and the green is everywhere.

From the Park João Paulo II, where traditional Polish buildings are surrounded by tall Araucaria pine trees, and the nearby Pedreira Paulo Leminski, a quarry turned into a park and auditorium of picturesque architecture, to more remote places such as Passauna, a natural park crisscrossed by trails, the city has a variety of outdoor attractions that can be visited throughout the year.