Paraty

First time visitors arriving in Paraty could be forgiven for thinking that they had been plunged back in time, to the very beginnings of the colonial New World. Dusty cobbled streets nudge up to white-washed Portuguese townhouses, stuccoed in crumbling plaster and clad with the occasional wandering vine. Up above, the mist-clad peaks of the Serra da Bocaina National Park, and the verdant wilds of the Atlantic Rainforest overwhelm the human structures. You would never believe it’s just three hours up the coast to Rio! Ask your Paraty tour guide for an introduction to the national historic sights of the centre, perhaps staying at one of the Pousadas that make up its colonial architecture. And while the area is pedestrianised, that doesn’t deter it from being the centre of all action from restaurants and watering holes to carnival celebrations. Then head further afield to sample the town’s Robinson Crusoe beaches, the roaring, misty waterfalls at Pedra Branca, the boulder-peppered sands and surreal diving spots of the Ilha dos Meros, or the winding canals that stream in and out of the city towards Sao Paulo and Penha to the south.