Come the pre-Lenten party period, Brazil is a veritable variety pack of carnivals, but the city of Salvador is more participatory than samba-centric Rio, more varied than Olinda, bigger than Belem, and - crucially - lasts longer than just about anywhere else.
Determinedly unsanitised, it is led by the Trio Electrico - around 50 giant trucks, all wired for ear-splitting sound. Each one features a live band pumping out a slightly different beat as they wind their way through the streets of Salvador. And they all showcase Brazil's finest proponents of frevo, the addictive Latino music of the Bahia.
Then there are the groups of drummers, each fanning out from Salvador's poorer black suburbs. Individually, they'd be mesmerising; collectively they are intoxicating. Afterwards you can wind down by the beach or beside the 17th-century pastel buildings of Pelourinho, the historic heart of Brazil's oldest city.
· Journey Latin America (020 8747 8315, www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk
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