Paraty

Situated roughly halfway between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Paraty is a charming, gorgeously preserved colonial town on Brazil’s Costa Verde.

Background

Initially just a small village, Paraty leapt to prominence with the discovery of gold in the mountains of Minas Gerais, hundreds of miles north, at the end of the 17th century. Eager to exploit this wealth, the Portuguese colonists set about constructing a nearly 750 mile (1,200 km) road, the Caminho do Ouro, connecting Ouro Preto, the nucleus of the mining operation in Minas, with Paraty on the coast, from where the gold would be shipped to Europe. In return, Paraty took in supplies as well as large numbers of enslaved Africans, who were sent up the arduous trail north to toil away in the mines.

Paraty reaped enormous wealth this way for decades, but it slowly came to an end around a century later, as pirate raids on the gold-carrying ships passing across the Bay of Ilha Grande forced the creation of a land route from Minas to Rio, avoiding the Caminho do Ouro altogether. Although the town enjoyed a brief economic revival in the late 19th century as a production hub of cachaça — the spirit distilled from sugarcane juice that used in Brazil’s most famous cocktail, the caipirinha — Paraty fell largely by the wayside for two centuries, remaining practically untouched until the 1970s, when the construction of a paved road (now BR-101) between Rio and Santos, the port city of São Paulo, opened the Costa Verde to tourism. Paraty became a significant destination within Brazil, prized for the magnificent preservation of its colonial center owing largely to its 200 years of isolation as a small village subsisting on fishing and small-scale agriculture of bananas, manioc, and sugarcane.

What to do

Today, the historic center of Paraty is a charming area of cobblestoned pedestrian streets with marvelously maintained colonial houses, full of artisan shops, restaurants serving local cuisine, and small bed and breakfasts.

The town has a lovely air about it, and every street contains remarkable beauty; during a full moon, the streets usually flood at high tide, creating a stunning reflection of the white houses with their colorful trim. In addition, the town’s four Baroque churches tell a story of the stratified colonial society:

Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário e São Benedito

The humble Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário e São Benedito was built by and for enslaved Africans.

Igreja de Santa Rita

Igreja de Santa Rita was for freed slaves and their descendants.

Igreja Nossa Senhora das Dores

Igreja Nossa Senhora das Dores was for the women of the white aristocracy.

Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios

The neoclassical Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios was where upper- and working-class white men alike worshiped.

But Paraty’s outstanding beauty is not contained just to the town; its natural setting, wedged between the Serra do Mar mountains and the Bay of Ilha Grande, offers adventures in every direction.

Many of Paraty’s finest beaches and swimming spots are reachable only by boat, tucked away at the tips of green peninsulas that jut out far into the bay; for this reason, I highly recommend booking a boat tour to take you to some of the highlights like Praia Vermelha, Praia da Lula, Praia da Conceição, Lagoa Azul, Praia Saco da Vela, and Ilha dos Côcos.

As you sail back to town, stop to check out Forte de Iticupe, where you can still see the cannons overlooking the bay that were used to help protect against pirates.

Arraia Tours has great options and very friendly staff if you're looking for a private boat tour at an affordable price.