Details About Rio Grande do Sul

Situated in the extreme south of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul remained well away from the ambitions of the European conquerors for more than a century following the discovery of Brazil in 1500. The Gaucho coastal strip stretches from Torres to Chui in the south of the state, where Brazil ends - or begins. Its beaches are almost bare, without any vegetation and with sand dunes and lakes separating the mountain ridge from the sea. Rio Grande, the first Gaucho city founded by the Portuguese, has a deserted, white sandy beach known as Cassino stretching for two hundred and forty five kilometres and completely open to the sea, a haven for wintering seals and sea-lions. Rio Grande is the home of one of the most comprehensive oceanographic museums in Latin America.