This week’s featured UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of Brazil’s most significant archaeological treasures. Serra da Capivara National Park is home to numerous examples of amazing rock art that dates back to the Ice Age. In fact, one rock shelter has some paintings that date back to 26,000-22,000 BC, making it the oldest known rock art in South America. At over 25,000 years of age, some of the rock art in Serra de Capivara makes the famous cave paintings in Lascaux, France (painted “only” 17,300 years ago) look like modern art.

Serra da Capivara’s main draw may be the rock art, but it’s also notable for its unique plant and animal life. Some species are not found anywhere else outside of the park boundaries.

UNESCO granted World Heritage status to the park in 1991, calling it an “outstanding testimony to one of the oldest human communities of South America.”

Guided tours of the park are available and hotels are located nearby. If you’re interested in going, this article has in-depth information about how to get there and how to book a tour.

To visit Serra da Capivara, you’ll need not only a valid passport but also a Brazil visa. Brazil visa requirements are notoriously complex. Here’s a brief overview of what you’ll need to get a tourist visa:

• A valid passport with an expiration date that’s at least 6 months in the future and at least 2 blank visa pages in the back. Before you submit your Brazil visa application, get a passport renewal or add pages as necessary.
• One completed Brazil visa application form
• 2 passport-sized photos
• A copy of your itinerary verifying the dates you plan to enter and leave Brazil.
• A clean copy of your driver’s license or state-issued ID card.
• If you will be visiting friends or relatives, you also need a letter from your hosts.

To enter Brazil, you may also need a yellow fever vaccination. Vaccines are required of travelers who have been to any of the following countries in the past 3 months (90 days): Angola, Bolivia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, French Guiana, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Republic of Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Peru, Sierra Leone, Sudan or Venezuela.

Why stumble through the Brazil visa system on your own? RushMyTravelVisa can guide you through it step by step. We’ll help you with the paperwork and expedite your application with the appropriate embassy or consulate for the fastest possible processing.

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Tags: Brazil, Brazil visa, Brazilian visa

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 26th, 2010 at 12:14 pm and is filed under World Heritage Site of the Week. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.