Porto Seguro
Encyclopedia
Porto Seguro is a municipality
in the Brazil
ian state of Bahia
. It is the site where the Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral
first set foot on Brazilian soil on April 22, 1500. It was the busiest port of the developing Portuguese colonies from 1500 into the early 19th century and is now a major tourist destination.
and Vitória. It is 707 km. south of Salvador and 613 km. north of Vitória. It is 62 km. east of the connection with the important BR-101 highway at Eunápolis
.
was completed in 1993, and receives direct flights from Salvador da Bahia
, São Paulo
, Belo Horizonte
, Porto Alegre
, Curitiba
, and Rio de Janeiro
. Airlines serving the city are TAM Airlines, Gol Airlines, Azul Brazilian Airlines
, Webjet Linhas Aéreas
and TRIP Linhas Aéreas
, as well as eventual charter flights from Europe and Argentina.
".
Tourism has expanded fast in recent years and there is highly visible growth in Porto Seguro. What was once a small town of fewer than 10,000 people in the 1970s has become a city of over 100,000 people. One suburb on the southern bank of the Buranhém River
, Arraial d'Ajuda, has grown from approximately 900 people in 1990 to 11,411 in 2005.
parties in Bahia. “Electric Trios” (trucks carrying sound systems and live bands), dancing “blocos” and “cordões” (street dancing groups) drag thousands of tourists along the "Passarela do Álcool" Passageway (the traditional local avenue) and to beach bars.
In 2003 there were 66,513 head of cattle, of which 8,647 were milk cows. The main agricultural products were pineapple, sugarcane, manioc, banana, rubber (19.8 km² in 2003), cacau (6.4 km²), coffee, coconut (19.95 km²), guava, oranges, lemons, papaya (10 km²), passion fruit, and pepper.
The Passarela do Álcool Passageway is a famous spot in the city. Here, visitors find the famous "Capeta” drink, can have dinner with live music and buy gifts made in the region; or visitors may go to Capitania dos Peixes, on Pacu Island, with ecological landscapes and an assorted variety of music genres and ambiences, near giant aquariums.
Historical Downtown Area
The historical site in the Cidade Alta area is a National Heritage Monument put under government trust by a Federal Decree since 1973. It was one of the first towns in Brazil and played an important role during the first years of European colonization. It includes three churches and around 40 buildings (among private residential houses and public institutions), restored by the State Government for the 500th anniversary celebration of Brazilian “discovery”. At night the whole area is bathed by a special lighting system, offering an impressive view.
Monte Pascoal National Park
Created in 1961 to preserve the place where Brazil was “discovered” by Portuguese warriors. It includes swamp areas, salt marshes, river marshes and a coastline around the rocky, high and round hill, considered the first point of land to be seen by the Portuguese traveler Pedro Álvares Cabral’s crew. It extends over an area of 144.8 km², including the Pataxó tribe’s indigenous protection land. Besides its historical importance, it also offers protection to one of the last stretches of Atlantic forest in the Northeastern area of Brazil. The area is aimed at preserving valuable woods such as Brazil wood, and still hosts many species of animals threatened by extinction, such as “collar sloth”, “black burs”, among others.
Recife de Fora Sea Park
It was the first city owned park in Brazil. During low tide, visitor can view a wide range of coral reefs, fish and many sea species. Tours are available on schooners.
Glória Hillock
Here, visitors find the ruins of what many consider to be the São Francisco Church, the where Ynaiá was buried, an Indian woman who died for the love of a crewmember of Portuguese navigator Gonçalo Coelho‘s fleet. People say the São Francisco Church was the first one built in Brazil, in baroque style, probably in 1504, whose ruins date to 1730.
The Nossa Senhora da Penha Matrix Church
Located on Pero de Campos Tourinho Square, in Cidade Alta, it was built at the 18th century’s end. It comprises an aisle, a main chapel, a sacristy and a bell tower.
Jaqueira Indigenous Protection Reservation
A huge jackfruit tree trunk, tumbled down by nature itself, represents the return to one’s origins and acts as a historical and cultural reference to honor the ancestral fathers and mothers of Pataxó families who recently moved into this 8.27 km² Indian protection area. Their huts, spread around original Atlantic Forest woods, keeps original old formats, giving visitors the impression of being back 500 years in time to pre-Columbian Brazil.
Pirata Island
It is considered as one of the most sophisticated aquarium complexes in South America. Pirata Island is a thematic leisure center combining nightlife infrastructure and environmental and sea biodiversity protection, with giant aquariums. It is located on Pacuio Island, on Buranhém River
and access is available exclusively by boat.
The “Discovery” Outdoors Museum
An outdoors, natural museum, whose “art galleries” are its beaches, valleys and natural trails and whose “collection” is a set of geographical formations and traditional villages, disposed as art works in permanent exhibition, engraved in very ancient media, which are spread along the 130 km length of Bahia’s historical southern coastline.
Terravista Golf Course
The golf course, designed by architect Dan Blankenship, offers 18 holes and demanded US$ 4 million in investment to be built. The project follows the most sophisticated and up to date trends in golf course building in the world today, as done in California, USA, and in Algarve, Portugal – all of which look very similar in terms of weather and geographical conditions, for all three golf courses are close to sea areas.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian state of Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
. It is the site where the Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral was a Portuguese noble, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the discoverer of Brazil. Cabral conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal. While details of Cabral's early life are sketchy, it...
first set foot on Brazilian soil on April 22, 1500. It was the busiest port of the developing Portuguese colonies from 1500 into the early 19th century and is now a major tourist destination.
Location
Porto Seguro is located on the Atlantic coast at a midway point between SalvadorSalvador, Bahia
Salvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first...
and Vitória. It is 707 km. south of Salvador and 613 km. north of Vitória. It is 62 km. east of the connection with the important BR-101 highway at Eunápolis
Eunápolis
Eunápolis is a municipality in Bahia with 99,553 people. The town was founded in 1988. In 1996, the city was made the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Eunápolis.- External links :*...
.
Airport
Porto Seguro AirportPorto Seguro Airport
Porto Seguro Airport is the airport serving Porto Seguro, Brazil.It is operated by .-History:The airport was inaugurated in 1982 but in 1997 brand new passenger terminal and apron were opened....
was completed in 1993, and receives direct flights from Salvador da Bahia
Salvador, Bahia
Salvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first...
, São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...
, Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...
, Curitiba
Curitiba
Curitiba is the capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is the largest city with the biggest economy of both Paraná and southern Brazil. The population of Curitiba numbers approximately 1.75 million people and the latest GDP figures for the city surpass US$61 billion according to...
, and Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. Airlines serving the city are TAM Airlines, Gol Airlines, Azul Brazilian Airlines
Azul Brazilian Airlines
Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras S/A is a Brazilian domestic low-cost airline based in Barueri. It was established on 5 May 2008 by Brazilian-born David Neeleman, founder and former-CEO of JetBlue. The airline began service on December 15, 2008 and has ordered a fleet of 76 Embraer 195 jets...
, Webjet Linhas Aéreas
WebJet Linhas Aéreas
WebJet Linhas Aéreas S.A. is a lowcost Brazilian airline, based in Rio de Janeiro. It was owned by CVC, the largest travel company in Brazil, but was acquired in July 2011 by Gol Transportes Aéreos...
and TRIP Linhas Aéreas
TRIP Linhas Aereas
TRIP Linhas Aéreas S/A is a domestic regional airline based in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.According to the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil in October 2011 Trip had 3.81% of the domestic market share in terms of passengers per kilometre flown.-History:The airline was established in 1998...
, as well as eventual charter flights from Europe and Argentina.
Tourism
The region is also notable for its many beaches and vestiges of its colonial past. There are still vestiges of the Atlantic Tropical Forest nearby. There are also a number of beach-side dance floors, playing Bahia's popular music, known as "AxéAxe
The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
".
Tourism has expanded fast in recent years and there is highly visible growth in Porto Seguro. What was once a small town of fewer than 10,000 people in the 1970s has become a city of over 100,000 people. One suburb on the southern bank of the Buranhém River
Buranhém River
-References:*...
, Arraial d'Ajuda, has grown from approximately 900 people in 1990 to 11,411 in 2005.
Carnival
The city offers one of the most famous CarnivalCarnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
parties in Bahia. “Electric Trios” (trucks carrying sound systems and live bands), dancing “blocos” and “cordões” (street dancing groups) drag thousands of tourists along the "Passarela do Álcool" Passageway (the traditional local avenue) and to beach bars.
Economic information
The economy is based on services, tourism, light transformation industries, fishing, government employment, agriculture, and cattle raising.In 2003 there were 66,513 head of cattle, of which 8,647 were milk cows. The main agricultural products were pineapple, sugarcane, manioc, banana, rubber (19.8 km² in 2003), cacau (6.4 km²), coffee, coconut (19.95 km²), guava, oranges, lemons, papaya (10 km²), passion fruit, and pepper.
Attractions
Night LeisureThe Passarela do Álcool Passageway is a famous spot in the city. Here, visitors find the famous "Capeta” drink, can have dinner with live music and buy gifts made in the region; or visitors may go to Capitania dos Peixes, on Pacu Island, with ecological landscapes and an assorted variety of music genres and ambiences, near giant aquariums.
Historical Downtown Area
The historical site in the Cidade Alta area is a National Heritage Monument put under government trust by a Federal Decree since 1973. It was one of the first towns in Brazil and played an important role during the first years of European colonization. It includes three churches and around 40 buildings (among private residential houses and public institutions), restored by the State Government for the 500th anniversary celebration of Brazilian “discovery”. At night the whole area is bathed by a special lighting system, offering an impressive view.
Monte Pascoal National Park
Created in 1961 to preserve the place where Brazil was “discovered” by Portuguese warriors. It includes swamp areas, salt marshes, river marshes and a coastline around the rocky, high and round hill, considered the first point of land to be seen by the Portuguese traveler Pedro Álvares Cabral’s crew. It extends over an area of 144.8 km², including the Pataxó tribe’s indigenous protection land. Besides its historical importance, it also offers protection to one of the last stretches of Atlantic forest in the Northeastern area of Brazil. The area is aimed at preserving valuable woods such as Brazil wood, and still hosts many species of animals threatened by extinction, such as “collar sloth”, “black burs”, among others.
Recife de Fora Sea Park
It was the first city owned park in Brazil. During low tide, visitor can view a wide range of coral reefs, fish and many sea species. Tours are available on schooners.
Glória Hillock
Here, visitors find the ruins of what many consider to be the São Francisco Church, the where Ynaiá was buried, an Indian woman who died for the love of a crewmember of Portuguese navigator Gonçalo Coelho‘s fleet. People say the São Francisco Church was the first one built in Brazil, in baroque style, probably in 1504, whose ruins date to 1730.
The Nossa Senhora da Penha Matrix Church
Located on Pero de Campos Tourinho Square, in Cidade Alta, it was built at the 18th century’s end. It comprises an aisle, a main chapel, a sacristy and a bell tower.
Jaqueira Indigenous Protection Reservation
A huge jackfruit tree trunk, tumbled down by nature itself, represents the return to one’s origins and acts as a historical and cultural reference to honor the ancestral fathers and mothers of Pataxó families who recently moved into this 8.27 km² Indian protection area. Their huts, spread around original Atlantic Forest woods, keeps original old formats, giving visitors the impression of being back 500 years in time to pre-Columbian Brazil.
Pirata Island
It is considered as one of the most sophisticated aquarium complexes in South America. Pirata Island is a thematic leisure center combining nightlife infrastructure and environmental and sea biodiversity protection, with giant aquariums. It is located on Pacuio Island, on Buranhém River
Buranhém River
-References:*...
and access is available exclusively by boat.
The “Discovery” Outdoors Museum
An outdoors, natural museum, whose “art galleries” are its beaches, valleys and natural trails and whose “collection” is a set of geographical formations and traditional villages, disposed as art works in permanent exhibition, engraved in very ancient media, which are spread along the 130 km length of Bahia’s historical southern coastline.
Terravista Golf Course
The golf course, designed by architect Dan Blankenship, offers 18 holes and demanded US$ 4 million in investment to be built. The project follows the most sophisticated and up to date trends in golf course building in the world today, as done in California, USA, and in Algarve, Portugal – all of which look very similar in terms of weather and geographical conditions, for all three golf courses are close to sea areas.
External links
- Voz de Trancoso - Site Ambiental
- Info Site of Porto Seguro
- http://www.portoseguro-brasil.com