Places to Visit

The increasing number of tourists who come to Bahia are attracted not only by Salvador, but also by more than a thousand kilometers of coastline and numerous islands, the most famous of these being that of Itaparica, linked to the state capital by ferry boat and by the BR-101. On the south coast of Bahia, Porto Seguro is an attraction in Brazil and internationally. It is an important historic landmark, being the place where Brazil was discovered. Together with Trancoso, Arraial d'Ajuda and Santa Cruz Cabrália, Porto Seguro forms the Rectangle of Discovery

Prominently featured on the south coast of Bahia are also the Morro (hill) of São Paulo, on the island of Tinharé, a small settlement characterized by its charm, peace and absence of cars; and the Costa do Cacau, the region between Ilhéus and Canavieiras, so called on account of being the main producer of cocoa in Bahia. On route, the tourist will find real tropical ecological sanctuaries: miles of beaches, some almost deserted, dense coconut plantations, varied vegetation of the native Mata Atlântica, large areas of mangroves and beautiful cocoa plantations. The region has resorts of international standards, and its cultural, human and environmental character forms the scenario for most of the works of the writer Jorge Amado.

The north coast stands out because of the Linha Verde, the highway which links Salvador to the state of Sergipe. One hundred and forty two kilometers along the coast are of tarmac, well signposted and with traffic signals, surrounded by enormous plantations of coconut palms, lakes, waterfalls and dunes. On route, there are Arembepe, hippy paradise of the 60's; Imbassaí, obligatory stopping-point, with fresh and salt water baths; Barra do Itariri, small fishing settlement, with dunes, mangroves and reefs; Praia do Sítio, the most lively and with an infrastructure of hostelries and restaurants; Conde, called the "Marshland of Bahia"; and Praia do Forte, the most celebrated, and home of the Tamar project for the preservation of turtles. The Linha Verde ends at Mangue Seco, which is already inside the state of Sergipe.

The Marinho Abrolhos national marine park is also in Bahia, where divers can enjoy huge expanses of corals, small animals which grow six centimeters per century on top of the skeletons of their ancestors. In Abrolhos these corals usually reach up to 20 metres high, and it is not always necessary to dive in order to see them. The most abundant are the fire-corals, red, white and orange in colour, and the brain-coral, in the form of a ball reaching up to a metre in diameter.

Chapada Diamantina (Diamond Mountain) is in the heart of the state, a mountainous region whose landscape beauty is made up of numerous rivers, with their source in the Chapada, and grottoes and waterfalls. The main attraction is the Fumaça (Smoke) waterfall. With 400 metres of free-fall, the water "dances" in the wind, and the reflections of the sun playing on the water sprays makes a series of rainbows. The importance of its historic sites is related to the exploration for diamonds, which reached its peak in the XVII and XIX centuries. It is an ideal region for ecotourism.

Ninety percent of the rivers which form the Paraguaçu, Jacuíbe and Contas basins have their sources in the Chapada. In the historical culture of the region, the saga is recounted of the gold mine in every side-street and the ancient great houses of Lençóis (main city), in the river Contas, Anadaraí, Mucugê and in the Xique-Xique district of Igatu. These cities were born with the start of mining, from the XVII century on.