| Paraty |
Paraty was an
important business center on colonial period. During XVIII century
 its
port was used to take the discovered gold on Minas Gerais to Rio
de Janeiro, and after the coffee produced at Vale do Paraíba.
With the railroad implantation between São Paulo and Rio de
Janeiro, in the end of XIX century, the city was being forgotten.Only with the opening of new roads, in the 1970’s, it was rediscovered and started to attract worldwide tourists. From that wealthy period, it preserved a significant collection of centenary buildings, within second floors, churches and chapels, typical of a Brazilian colonial city. One of the best programmes on Paraty is exactly to be in an inn on the historical center, walk on the streets, visit churches and museums and enjoy restaurants and bars located on old big houses. You can’t lose the chance of knowing the old trails that linked Paraty to the interior. The trails are long with waterfalls on the exuberant Atlantic Forest. It is located on a bay with transparent and blue water; the coastline has a lot of beaches, some still primitive with fishermen villages. Its islands also have sailings and excellent places for diving. During the year, many popular parties in the city happen, such as the famous Carnival, the Procissão do Fogaréu, in the Holy Week, and the Festa do Divino (Divine’s Party), in May. Historical center There's nothing better in Paraty than walking on streets with about 30 quarters on the historical center with a lot of buildings from XIX and XVII centuries. It still keeps the original pavement and vehicles are not allowed to enter. You should visit the churches Santa Rita from 1722, located in front of the sea and that houses the Museu de Arte Sacra (Sacred Art Museum), and N.S. do Rosário and S. Benedito, from 1725, and N.S. dos Remédios matrix, from 1873. In general, Brazilian colonial style big houses and second floors are well preserved and houses inns, restaurants and craftwork stores. There are many plastic artists’ ateliers. At night, bars with tables on sidewalks and live music make a lively atmosphere. Beaches  To
get to some beaches on Paraty, visitor needs to hike through the
forest or go by boat. But it's worthy, because primitive scenery
places and almost untouched environment. Blue sea, white sand and
preserved vegetation are coastline characteristics of the region.
Cajaíba and Sono are good examples. In Trindade, a fishermen
village discovered by tourism, there are also beautiful places,
such as Cachadaço beach.Sailings Sailing by Paraty bay is a good way to know part of the coastline on the region, crossing islands, such as Algodão and Sapeca. It takes about half a day and you can stop to sea baths. Trails Explorers that carried the riches from Minas Gerais in the XVIII century used the Caminho do Ouro (Gold Route). Visitor can walk a leg with 2 thousand meters and original pavement on Atlantic Forest. There are waterfalls and ruins from old constructions on the way. Diving Paraty's seawaters bay have appropriate visibility for diving. From 3 meters deep it’s possible to admire the luxurious underwater fauna and flora. There are good places on large coast, shipwrecks and islands. One of the best places is Laje dos Meros. There are diving agencies on the city. Restaurants and typical dish There are good restaurants with different specialties, such as French, Italian and international cookery. The main ones are those that serve fishes and seafood. The typical dish is casadinho shrimp, fried and stuffed with spicy farofa. INFRASTRUCTURE HOW
TO GET THERE |