UNESCO World Heritage for Brazil

UNESCO World Heritage Sites represent some of the best natural, cultural and historic attractions in world travel. Below are details of the 20 cultural, natural and mixed sites inscribed for Brazil to date (a red World Heritage symbol denotes a site currently regarded as endangered). For more details of these properties, click on the links to the UNESCO website and the photographic galleries of these sites from OurPlace (where available) or see our highlights of Brazil for descriptions. Also, check out UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage for Brazil below.


1980 - Historic Town of Ouro Preto Cultural site
1982 - Historic Centre of the Town of Olinda Cultural site
1983 - Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis: San Ignacio Mini, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto and Santa Maria Mayor (Argentina), Ruins of Sao Miguel das Missoes (Brazil) Cultural site
1985 - Historic Centre of Salvador de Bahia Cultural site
1985 - Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Congonhas Cultural site
1986 - Iguaçu National Park Natural site
1987 - Brasilia Cultural site
1991 - Serra da Capivara National Park Cultural site
1997 - Historic Centre of São Luís Cultural site
1999 - Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves Natural site
1999 - Historic Centre of the Town of Diamantina Cultural site
1999 - Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves Natural site
2000 - Central Amazon Conservation Complex Natural site
2000 - Pantanal Conservation Area Natural site
2001 - Brazilian Atlantic Islands: Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas Reserves Natural site
2001 - Cerrado Protected Areas: Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks Natural site
2001 - Historic Centre of the Town of Goiás Cultural site
2010 - São Francisco Square in the Town of São Cristóvão Cultural site
2012 - Rio de Janeiro: Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea Cultural site
2016 - Pampulha Modern Ensemble Cultural site


Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis: San Ignacio Mini, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto and Santa Maria Mayor (Argentina), Ruins of Sao Miguel das Missoes (Brazil)


Intangible Cultural Heritage

Recently UNESCO has begun to document the world's Intangible Cultural Heritage which includes "traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts". The current listings for Brazil are shown below - click on the links for more details.


Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

2008 - Samba de Roda of the Recôncavo of Bahia
2008 - Oral and graphic expressions of the Wajapi
2012 - Frevo, performing arts of the Carnival of Recife

Programmes, projects and activities for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage considered to best reflect the principles and objectives of the Convention

2011 - Call for projects of the National Programme of Intangible Heritage
2011 - Fandango's Living Museum

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

2011 - Yaokwa, the Enawene Nawe people's ritual for the maintenance of social and cosmic order