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Almost 1000km from Rio and located in the barren sertao of the Goias highlands - very much in rural, peasant Brazil - Brasilia is the largest and most interesting of the world's "planned cities". Declared the national capital in 1960, the futuristic city is located in a federal zone of its own - Brasilia D.F. (Distrito Federal) - right in the centre of Goias state. But until the city's construction this was one of Brazil's most isolated regions, and the opening up of communications, coupled with a concerted drive to exploit the hinterland, has led to a process of rapid transformation.

Much of the finance for Brasilia, and for the Transamazonian road network which has appeared over the last three or four decades, was borrowed by the Brazilian authorities on a more or less conditional basis - the condition being that they agreed to a massive "development" campaign for the region. Funds and tax incentives were made available to persuade some of the largest national and international companies to take part, and by the late 1960s it suddenly became feasible (because of the new roads) and economically viable (because of the favourable bureaucratic assistance from Brasilia) to drop bulldozers by helicopter into the interior. The bulldozers felled trees around the edge of a clearing until the perimeter met the path of another incoming bulldozer. In this way, forest clearance on a gigantic scale led, in a matter of years, to the creation of enormous pasture lands for beef cattle, mostly for the European and American fast-food markets. One of the worst aspects of this kind of development was that - technically - the tax relief was only available to companies which were utilizing at least half of the land they had claimed. Since all that the companies were expected to do was to clear half the land by felling the trees and burning off the stubble, forest involvement for many of the largest companies was little more than a financial game, the cost of which was the extermination of huge tracts of the world's remaining virgin forest. Although cattle ranching is still one of the leading industries in the region, there are signs that this particular type of "development" is slowing down: the tax advantages are now much less, and, on top of that, most of the best and easily accessible land has already been claimed and at least partly cleared.

Brasilia's only real attraction - but reason enough to make the effort - is its unique city architecture . The futuristic forms of the National Theatre, cathedral and Congress buildings are a sight you'll never forget: cold, concrete and utterly compelling - though nowadays saplings planted in the last century are beginning to green up the otherwise barren city centre. There are parks and the large man-made Lago Paranoa close to the city and, within day-trip distance, there's the small rural town of Cristalina where crystals and semi-precious stones are more common than bread. The city's also well connected by long, but good-quality, roads to the rest of the country - to the Mato Grosso to the west, to Belem and the Northeast, to Rio, Sao Paulo and the South, and to the even more distant Rondonia and Acre in the western Amazon.

At the heart of Brazil the states of Goias and Tocantins give birth to the mighty Araguaia and Tocantins rivers which divide the Amazon basin and much of the Mato Grosso from the more populated areas around Rio, Minas Gerais and the Northeast. It's a huge, wild area, largely off the beaten tourist track. The state of Goias itself remained largely unexplored until this century. Much of the northern half was composed of relatively virgin forest, a haven for previously unknown Indian tribes. Today, long bus rides take you into the scenic Chapada dos Veadeiros national park and, in Tocantins, to the world's largest river island, the Ilha do Bananal . Goias is opening up to ecotourism based around the extensive and distinctive sertao wilderness areas and the historic towns of Pirenopolis and Goias Velho . In the south, the planned city of Goiania is the state capital.

The States Of Goias And Tocantins

Beyond the city and Federal District of Brasilia, the hill-studded, surprisingly green plains of Goias state extend towards another planned city, Goiania , and the historic old towns of Pirenopolis and Goias Velho . Although gold mining started here in a small way during the seventeenth century, the first genuine settlement was not until 1725. These days agriculture is the main activity: cattle in their millions, pigs, rice, maize, soya, sugar cane and fruits.

In the north of Goias rises the mystical mountain range and national park of the Chapada dos Veadeiros with its deep, impressive cave system of Terra Ronca . In the south, the thermal springs of Caldas Novas and Rio Quente bubble up into giant hotel complexes, while, over on the western border with Mato Grosso, the Emas National Park is packed with wildlife, in particular the large American rhea.

The mighty Rio Araguaia (which means Macaw River in Tupi Indian language), with its many beautiful, sandy beaches, forms the 1200-kilometre-long western frontier of both Goias and Tocantins states. The state of Tocantins , created for political rather than geographic or economic reasons in 1989, contains the huge river island, Ilha do Bananal , and its National Park of Araguaia . The main and central section (BR-153) of the 2000-kilometre-long highway from Goiania and Brasilia to Belem also runs through Tocantins. The only town of any significance is Araguaina , a flyblown settlement in the middle of a largely deforested savanna.

Both Goias and Tocantins are fairly well served by bus but, in many ways, this is new territory for travellers to explore, most foreign visitors travelling straight through the region en route to better-known destinations such as the Amazon and Mato Grosso. If you have the time, however, Goias in particular offers a variety of interesting stops. The area is popular with Brazilian holiday-makers, and the tourist industry is beginning to get organized. There is already a wide range of good hotels throughout the region and some excellent eating places if you know where to look.

Buses

Brasilia to: Alto Paraiso de Goias (daily; 3hr); Araguaina (1 daily; 18hr); Belem (daily; 36hr); Belo Horizonte (6 daily; 14hr); Campo Grande (daily; 24hr); Cristalina (6 daily; 3hr); Cuiaba (daily; 20hr); Goiania (hourly; 2hr 30min); Ibotirama (several daily; 14hr); Pirenopolis (6 daily; 3hr); Rio (daily; 20hr); Sao Miguel do Araguaia (daily; 9hr); Sao Paulo (daily; 16hr).

Goiania to: Anapolis (20 daily; 1hr); Araguaina (1 daily; 19hr); Brasilia (hourly; 2hr 30min); Caldas Novas (3 daily; 3hr); Campo Grande (daily; 18hr); Cuiaba (1 daily; 17hr); Goias Velho (daily; 3-4hr); Pirenopolis (daily; 1hr); Rio (daily; 18hr); Sao Miguel do Araguaia (daily; 9hr 30min); Sao Paulo (daily; 14hr).

Planes

From Brasilia and Goiania to Belem, Belo Horizonte, Manaus, Rio and Sao Paulo, there are several flights every day. Other daily flights to Campo Grande, Cuiaba, Fortaleza, Foz de Iguacu, Macapa, Recife, Salvador and Santarem; less frequent flights to Sao Felix do Araguaia and Teresina

Explore Goias And Tocantins

Brasilia

Imagine what it would be like touching down on another planet, and you'll have some idea of what confronts you when you first arrive in BRASILIA : there is a clinical, science-fiction logic at work in the city. Other visitors have had less kind things to say about the city. Simone de Beauvoir, visiting in 1963 with Jean-Paul Sartre in tow, described the place as "elegant monotony", while the Royal Institute of British Architects poked fun by renaming Brasilia "The Moon's Backside".

The city was intended for a population of half a million by the year 2000. However, there are over two million people living in and around Brasilia today and within twenty years this could easily double. There are also substantial and rapidly growing shantytowns - which are euphemistically named "pioneer settlements" - ringing the ultramodern city. Most of the people who live here do so for economic reasons. A large service sector followed the bureaucrats, diplomats and businessmen into the new city and, behind that, a whole trail of retailers and smaller merchants arrived to compete for the new markets.

Brasilia's good points are all fairly obvious architectural ones, but there are other attractions, too. Magnificent sunsets send a golden glow over the twin concrete towers of the National Congress building; pleasant parks, popular for weekend picnics, encircle the entire city; and in the downtown zone, by the central bus station, the lively atmosphere revolves around a busy mess of people and trade. Brasilia's design also has a mystic side to it. On Brazilian Republic Day - April 21 - the sun rises through the concrete "H" shape of the parallel twin towers which poke out of the National Congress building, provoking images of a futuristic Stonehenge. Other curious theories associate modern Brasilia with the stars, with the lost city of Atlantis and with ancient Egypt's pyramids and temples. The aerial view of the city, a winged bird shape, is vaguely reminiscent of the mystical Egyptian ibis bird, and the cemetery is laid out in the shape of a spiral - life's symbol and essential pattern.

Brasilia can be as alienating as any city and, unlike most other Brazilian cities, people here seldom stop or smile to acknowledge a fellow human being. Moreover, on some very basic points, Brasilia has certainly failed as a planned city. Forty years on, although people are certainly grumbling less about the soullessness of Brasilia, no one would dream of comparing it to Paris, London or Rio for nightlife and entertainment. Many officials still arrive for work on Monday and leave for home on Thursday because they find the city either too oppressive or just plain boring at the weekend. At the most basic level, there's a distinct lack of street-corner bars and ad hoc market places, things which provide a major social hub elsewhere in Brazil. Instead, there are simply vast areas of empty space, massive and anonymous office or hotel blocks. Despite this, however, there is a substantial middle class living and working happily in Brasilia, mostly based around the university and the civil service