Areia

Areia sits in the brejo, the humid belt of hills that interrupts the dry Paraiba interior, and that microclimate made it rich in the nineteenth century on sugar and then coffee - which is why a town of this size has a neoclassical theatre from 1859, the Teatro Minerva, still in use, and a centre of listed townhouses. The estates around it produced cachaca, and several engenhos still distil: Vale Verde and others run tours through the mill, the copper stills and the ageing barrels, and sell at the gate. The Museu Casa Pedro Americo commemorates the painter of Independencia ou Morte, born here in 1843. The countryside is green and cool in a way that is unexpected this far into the north-eastern interior.

What you actually see

• A 1859 theatre - the Teatro Minerva, unusual for a town this size.
• Working cachaca engenhos - mills and copper stills open for tours.
• The brejo microclimate - green hills breaking the dry interior.
• Pedro Americo's house - the museum to the history painter born here.

When to go

All year. A day, or two if you want more than one distillery.

Honest expectations

Mills keep limited hours and some open only by prior arrangement. The town is small with modest accommodation. The road up is winding. Interpretation is in Portuguese throughout.

Nearby

Campina Grande is south-west; Joao Pessoa is east on the coast.