Top Southeast Brazil Scavenger Hunts

Skyscrapers on one side, rainforest remnants on the other — Avenida Paulista was made for a scavenger hunt. This app-led scavenger hunt takes you through São Paulo on foot, using phone-based riddles to guide you from one landmark to the next. No guide, no fixed start time. • Step inside the world of Japan House, Brazil's window on Japanese culture • Escape into Parque Trianon, a pocket of Atlantic rainforest amid the towers • Look up at the Edifício Gazeta, a monument of São Paulo's media history Around 2 hours, any group size, available in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. Brazil's most famous avenue, block by clever block.

Niemeyer curves, modern art and deep green shade — Ibirapuera Park is São Paulo at play. This app-led scavenger hunt takes you through São Paulo on foot, using phone-based riddles to guide you from one landmark to the next. No guide, no fixed start time. • Circle the Auditório Ibirapuera, Oscar Niemeyer's bold red-tongued landmark • Explore the stories of the Museu Afro Brasil and its powerful collection • Pass the MAM, the modern art museum tucked beneath the park's marquee Around 2 hours, any group size, available in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. The city's favourite park, turned into a game board.

Paraty's cobblestone streets and colonial facades have barely changed in 300 years — and this hunt takes you deep into every corner. This app-led scavenger hunt takes you through Paraty on foot, using phone-based riddles to guide you from one landmark to the next. No guide, no fixed start time. • Search out the Igreja de Santa Rita de Cássia, Paraty's oldest church and a jewel of 18th-century colonial architecture • Pause at the Cais de Paraty, the historic waterfront quay that once shipped gold from the Brazilian interior to Lisbon • Unravel the mysteries of the Casarão dos Símbolos, a colonial mansion covered in cryptic masonic carvings Around 2 hours, any group size, available in Portuguese, Spanish, and English. A perfectly preserved colonial town and a scavenger hunt made for it — this one's hard to beat.

Ipanema and Copacabana are two of the world's most famous beaches — and behind the waterfront, there's a whole city worth getting to know. This app-led scavenger hunt takes you through Rio de Janeiro on foot, using phone-based riddles to guide you from one landmark to the next. No guide, no fixed start time. • Walk the iconic Praia de Ipanema, the beach that inspired a bossa nova classic and became one of Brazil's defining images • Discover the rocky peninsula of Arpoador, where the two beaches meet and the surf breaks hard against the stone • Continue to Praia de Copacabana, one of the longest and most famous stretches of urban beach in the world Around 2 hours, any group size, available in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. The Girl from Ipanema walked this way — now it's your turn.

Salvador's Pelourinho is the heart of Afro-Brazilian culture — a UNESCO-listed hillside neighbourhood where every wall, church, and square tells a story. This app-led scavenger hunt takes you through Salvador on foot, using phone-based riddles to guide you from one landmark to the next. No guide, no fixed start time. • Stand at Praça Castro Alves, the grand square named for Brazil's abolitionist poet and still a living stage for the city's cultural life • Visit the Igreja Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos, a church built by enslaved Africans in the 18th century — a monument of resilience and faith • Step into the Fundação Casa de Jorge Amado, dedicated to Brazil's most beloved novelist and the man who put Bahia on the literary map Around 2 hours, any group size, available in Portuguese, English, and French. Pelourinho is where Brazil's soul lives — and this tour takes you right to it.

Urca is Rio's quietest neighbourhood and its most surprising — tucked between Sugarloaf Mountain and the bay, with history on every corner. This app-led scavenger hunt takes you through Rio de Janeiro on foot, using phone-based riddles to guide you from one landmark to the next. No guide, no fixed start time. • Stroll along the Mureta da Urca, the beloved low seafront wall where cariocas gather to watch the sun set behind Sugarloaf • Visit the Museu de Ciências da Terra, a fascinating geological museum with one of Brazil's finest mineral collections • Walk to Praia Vermelha, the sheltered red-sand beach at the foot of Sugarloaf with one of the most dramatic natural backdrops in the city Around 2 hours, any group size, available in Portuguese, Spanish, and English. Rio has bigger neighbourhoods and louder ones — but none quite as perfect for a walk as Urca.