Rio Sambadrome 2013

The 2013 Rio Carnival festival is set to take place February 8-13, 2013 in the Marvelous City of Rio de Janeiro. With all the excitement surrounding Rio, the Sambadrome during Rio Carnival 2013 will play host the biggest party on the planet! On RIO.com you’ll find everything you need to make the most out of your trip to the 2013 Carnival in Rio de Janeiro: from the legendary Rio Carnival 2013 Balls to the glorious Samba Parades, in which 12 of Rio de Janeiro’s most elite samba schools parade on the “special days” of Rio Carnival — Carnival Sunday and Monday, February 10 and 11, 2013 — to the Access days — Friday, February 8th and Saturday, February 9th – when the other 19 samba schools parade down the runway of the official home of Rio Carnival, the Rio de Janeiro Sambadrome.

 

How it all started

There are many theories as to the origin of the Carnival with stories of it being a pagan celebration in ancient Rome. Carnival balls became popular in Rio in the nineteenth century with legendary balls held at the Copacabana Palace Hotel and the Municipal Theater. The inevitable influence of Afro-Brazilian culture in the form of the samba heralded the beginning of the Samba Parade in the 1930s. It is the ethnic melting pot of Rio that makes this festival unlike any in the world. The combination of the cultural diversity and Brazilian swing rhythm is what makes the Carnival in Rio so unique.

  
Samba Schools and the Sambadrome

The center of attraction is, of course, the Sambadrome in downtown Rio, where the Samba Parade has been held since 1984. As tourists begin to arrive, the city virtually comes to a halt for all four days leading up to Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. While the Sambadrome may be the focus of the Carnival, the focal point is undoubtedly the samba schools and their vivacious women samba dancers, who are a quintessential part of the Carnival.

Rio Samba Parade: The biggest attraction on earth

The samba parade held to celebrate the Rio Carnival is undoubtedly the biggest attraction on earth, with visitors from around the world flocking to Rio for a week of dancing, singing, and partying. To vibe with the rhythm of the samba the only place to be is the Rio Carnival. The Carnival is celebrated in just about every state in Brazil. While each celebration is exciting and wonderful, none of them can equal the amazing extravaganza that is the Carnival in Rio. In all likelihood, the quest to experience the Carnival once could turn out to be an annual habit for any tourist. The Carnival is the best time to experience the best of Brazilian culture, for this is one occasion that truly sums up the carioca way of life. Since 1984, the parade is held at the Sambadrome where twelve of the top samba schools vie for the prestigious championship title every year.

Packages to Rio Carnival

5 Days/4 Nights From $1,488* Includes: 4 nights Plaza Copacabana Hotel, breakfast daily, airport transfers and sightseeing.

 

 

Machu Picchu, South America

Machu Picchu was built around 1450, at the height of the Inca Empire. The Incas built the estate around 1450, but abandoned it as an official site for the Inca rulers a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Although known locally, it was unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham.

Most of the outlying buildings have been reconstructed in order to give tourists a better idea of what the structures originally looked like. By 1976, thirty percent of Machu Picchu had been restored, and the restoration work continues to this day.

The location of the city was a military secret, and its deep precipices and steep mountains provided excellent natural defences. The Inca Bridge, an Inca rope bridge, across the Urubamba River in the Pongo de Mainique, provided a secret entrance for the Inca army. Another Inca bridge was built to the west of Machu Picchu, the tree-trunk bridge, at a location where a gap occurs in the cliff that measures 6 metres (20 ft). It could be bridged by two tree trunks, but with the trees removed, there was a 570 metres (1,870 ft) fall to the base of the cliffs.

In 2005 and 2009, the University of Arkansas made detailed laser scans of the entire Machu Picchu site and of the ruins at the top of the adjacent Huayna Picchu mountain. The university has made the scan data available online for research purposes.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Machu Picchu is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and should be seen to be believed! 

 

 South American Adventure & Amazon Cruising (Lima - Rio de Janeiro, 2013) - Duration 25 Days from $16,295 per person twin share.  Contact us for further details.