A historical city among jungle mountains and exuberant beaches: Paraty – Brazil

March 2020 · 4 min read · Rio de Janeiro

This town is among the best preserved historical attractions in Brazil and is surrounded by peerless nature, with lush mountains, beautiful beaches and lots of islands in its bay.

Paraty is part of the state of Rio de Janeiro, of its Costa Verde (Green Coast), and since 1966 it has been a National Heritage.

I arrived in this city with my heavy backpack. The bus that brought me from Angra dos Reis dropped me off at the terminal, a few blocks from the colonial town. I walked to find accommodation and got a good option in an inn a few streets beyond the historic center, where the rooms are cheaper.

When I left my things, I took the map that was given to me at a tourist spot and went to explore the streets of Paraty.

The sun was at its peak, it was midday, but the light was perfect for taking nice shots of the colonial architecture and natural surroundings of Paraty, so I took some photos sweating a little.

The circulation of cars is not allowed through its cobbled streets, which is an advantage for visitors, we can walk and distract ourselves quietly.

There is much to see here, although the city is small, its history is rich.

Photo: Santa Rita Church, Paraty old town

The beauty and wealth that its buildings reflect is due to the fact that this population was an important port at the end of the 17th century and an obligatory stop between Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, where gold was mined.

Today Paraty gets a large part of its income from tourism. Bookstores, cultural centers, cafes, galleries, restaurants, bars and shops operate in many of the old mansions, this has given a lively atmosphere to the city.

These original souvenir bottles are made of cachaça, a liquor that is distilled from the fermented juice of sugar cane and that is produced a lot and of good quality in Paraty.

The creativity of artisans

In addition, its surroundings are full of activities for recreation on beaches, rivers and mountains. Tourist agencies offer jeep tours, hikes, boat tours, kayaking, bike tours, diving, horseback riding, and more.

After visiting the historic center, the following days I escaped to immerse myself a little in its exuberant nature.

It was not easy to choose where to go, Paraty has about 300 beaches and 65 islands, and I would only be there for three days, imagine ... I reviewed my guide and brochures that I got out there in the agencies and decided to go to some beaches on the outskirts : Trindade and Sono.

I took a bus early in the morning to go to Trindade beach, 25 km south of Paraty. I honestly didn't know what to expect because I hadn't even seen photos of the site, but the description in a brochure had caught my attention: “Fishing village with four paradisiacal beaches. Option to hike through the Atlantic jungle to a natural pool”.

Do Meio beach

The landscape is really impressive, with the mountain almost submerged in the sea, large rocks and somewhat rough waters.

De Fora beach

Trindade's beaches are called Cepilho, Fora or Ranchos, Meio and Caixadaço, the latter with a natural pool where you can dive with a simple mask.

The one that most impressed me was Cepilho because of the huge gray and black rocks scattered by its sands.

Cepilho beach

These rocks are photogenic don't you think?

The next day I went to visit Sono beach, 35 km southeast of Paraty. The bus dropped me off at Laranjeiras, where the path to reach this beach is, the 3 km walk between the jungle mountain is not difficult and it takes about an hour and a half.

Not many people go to this place, because you can only get there on foot or by boat. It is mainly inhabited by fishermen, camping is allowed and it has services.