Paraty, Brazil
Brazil,  Independent travel,  Outdoor Activities,  Photography,  South America,  Travel Blog,  Walking,  Wildlife

Hello Again Brazil: Discovering Paraty

March 18, 2024 /

Exotic bird calls boom or squawk through the trees, now and again the undergrowth rustles with the movement of an unseen creature. We are drenched in sweat, dripping wet from head to toe; the baking sun casts searing heat into the occasional clearing but for the most part the lofty canopy traps intense humidity in the spaces below. Official signs warn of poisonous spiders, scorpions and snakes. The heavy air is full of the scents of foliage and damp earth. This is the Atlantic Forest, its million shades of green scaling every mountainside and sweeping with sumptuous colour to the very edge of the shore. The climb has been testing, the descent tricky, but now, 90 minutes or so later, we stand in awe gazing at the incredible view which has opened up before us. We stand above Praia Sono, just the most perfect tropical beach, accessible only by boat or hiking trail, its pale sands tracing a golden thread between the lush green forest and the deep blue Atlantic. My God it’s good to be travelling again….

Sono Beach, Brazil
Praia Sono

It’s 4:40am and still pitch dark as we touch down in São Paulo, so, with a need to kill time before we start the next leg, we ignore the scramble to retrieve hand luggage and are amongst the last to leave the aeroplane. No matter how slowly we try to move, passport control, baggage hall and customs are all ultra quick and it still hasn’t reached 6 o’clock as we munch cheese balls and sip overly sweet cappuccino at an airport cafe.

We have choices. Paraty is just over three hours by car, closer to six by bus, and check in time is not until 3pm: we really don’t want to go too soon. But despite our good intentions we run out of patience just after 8 o’clock and Michaela hits the Uber app – and, inevitably, driver Claudio is there within minutes and we are on the road much earlier than we intended to be.

Waterfalls on journey from Sao Paulo to Paraty, Brazil
On route to Paraty

Once we are off the motorways the drive is so utterly spectacular, and the road so interesting and challenging, that I frequently wish I was at the wheel instead of in the back seat, particularly as we descend the steep winding mountain road down through the lush rainforest. Eventually we cross the river and enter Paraty, and even after a photo stop at a waterfall en route it’s still only just past 11 o’clock as we arrive at our apartment, but pleasingly our beaming host Jessica has prepared things early and we have immediate access.

Airbnb Paraty, Brazil
Airbnb Paraty, Brazil
Our home in Paraty

Saffron finch
Saffron finch
Saffron finch
Saffron finches in the garden

We are straight away enchanted by our new surroundings: our apartment, part of what appears to be a series of converted hospital buildings, is set in lush green gardens full of birdsong. Flocks of saffron finches feed on the lawns, kiskadees call from the trees and the gentle babble of a stream enhances the sense of peace. It’s absolutely lovely and we know instantly that we’ll be content here.

Airbnb Paraty, Brazil
Airbnb Paraty, Brazil
Airbnb Paraty, Brazil
Our home in Paraty

Our sense of enchantment continues as we explore this lovely little town. Paraty enjoyed considerable wealth in the 18th century, becoming the departure port for precious cargoes making their way to Rio and Portugal after the discovery of gold and diamonds in a neighbouring province. As roadways between São Paulo and Rio opened up after Brazilian independence in 1822, Paraty fell into decline and became something of a forgotten town – a piece of history which ironically aided its beauty as the historical buildings remained untouched for more than a century. Nowadays there is a resurgence of wealth through the tourist market – however, although Paraty is clearly a destination town and understandably popular with visitors, it is definitely not over touristed, the fact that the entire old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site ensures that any change is heavily restricted.

Cobbled streets of Paraty, Brazil
Streets of Paraty old town

Cobbled streets of Paraty, Brazil

The oversized cobbles of the ancient streets form something which is more like boulder-strewn river beds than thoroughfares, pleasing on the eye but harsh on feet and calf muscles. Uneven and irregularly shaped, smoothed and rounded by years of footfall, and sloping downwards to the middle of the street, they make virtually every step a hazard. The river bed analogy is not altogether inaccurate: high tides regularly breach defences and send moving sea water through the streets of Paraty old town.

Cobbled streets of Paraty, Brazil

Cobbled Streets of Paraty, Brazil

Attractive low rise colonial buildings line the streets where large numbers of restaurants, cafes and bars nestle behind modest windows or in hidden leafy courtyards. Even the new town, outside of the grid of cobbled lanes, is calm and appealing, palm trees decorating walkways and music filtering out from unknown sources. The Pereque River flows gently out to sea, or pushes backwards with the incoming tide, giant egrets fish patiently in its waters and a contagious tranquility follows its route.

Cobbled streets of Paraty, Brazil
Cobbled streets of Paraty, Brazil

Cobbled streets of Paraty, Brazil
Cobbled streets in Paraty old town

The two bare chested guys are sitting in the shade of a coconut palm on the riverbank, chatting quietly and fiddling with iPhones. Only out of habit do they look up and ask if we want an hour’s boat trip and are visibly surprised when we say….. yes please. We quickly do a deal. Certain sounds have the ability to magnify peace, a chugging motor boat, for instance, is on a quiet day somehow even more peaceful than silence itself, and the sound of our little boat gives us a huge sense of serenity as we slowly make our way out across the water.

River Pereque in Paraty, Brazil
Pereque River, Paraty
Boats on the River Pereque in Paraty, Brazil
Pereque River, Paraty

All around us the incredibly lush green shades kiss the sea and climb to impossibly high peaks with not the tiniest discernible break in the verdant cover. We are surely looking at the very essence of tropical scenery. Paraty – pronounced para-chee, by the way – has an unusual feature in terms of beautiful views, being a coastal town which has, improbably, 360 degree views of mountains, a legacy of its position on a complex coastline peppered with inlets, headlands and fjords. Only as we pass out beyond some of the first islands do we get an unbroken view of the ocean.

Paraty Bay, Brazil
Paraty Bay
Paraty Bay, Brazil
Greenery kisses the shores

The sea water around this part of the bay, particularly at its fringes, is a murky brown as successive tides swish the mud of the mangroves in and out of twisting channels, tree roots, branches and leaves carried as unwitting passengers riding on a multiple return ticket until they eventually lodge in a final resting place.

Paraty Bay, Brazil
Heading across the bay

Sunday morning comes, and after some tasty “tapiocas”, a bit like a crepe but made with, unsurprisingly, tapioca, we seek out a local office and put into place those plans for later in the week which are not of the unguided variety, and head out of town towards the Praia Sono trailhead. 

Trekking sign to Sono Bay, Brazil
Sono beach trail, Brazil
Dangerous creatures sign near Sono beach
On the Sono trail

We’re on our way, starting the steep climb which will eventually lead us to a beach surely made in paradise, sweltering in the heat, clambering over tree roots and boulders, heading inexorably towards the Atlantic. A cascading stream at one point provides a welcome cold splash for our faces, yet just seconds later perspiration is once again seeping from every pore.

Sono beach trail, Brazil
Sono beach trail, Brazil
Sono trail
Sono beach trail, Brazil
Sono beach trail, Brazil

For a hike of only 90 minutes it’s been sapping and, just as our water supplies are running low, the magical sight of our destination creeps closer. The hint of turquoise sea behind the greenery is slowly but surely joined by the unmistakable roar of breaking waves, and we know we are close. Yet still the first sight of Praia Sono, the paradise beach, blows us away. This is wonderful.

Hello again Brazil.

Looking down on Sono beach, Brazil
Praia Sono
Sono beach Brazil
On the beach

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