Arraial d'Ajuda

Arraial sits on a cliff above the sea across the river from Porto Seguro, and its centre is a handful of lanes around the Nossa Senhora da Ajuda church of 1549, one of the oldest in Brazil, with a view from the churchyard along the whole coast. Rua do Mucuge running down from it is the commercial spine - restaurants, bars and shops, busy every night in season. Below the cliff, beaches run south: Mucuge, Pitinga with its coloured cliffs and rock pools, Taipe further along. It is the middle option on this coast, without the package-holiday scale of Porto Seguro or the prices of Trancoso, and it fills entirely between December and February.

History

The place was first named Arraial de Nossa Senhora d'Ajuda, after its patron saint. It had one of the first airfields in Brazil, opened in 1939 and closed in 1982 when Porto Seguro's new commercial airport opened; Central Park now stands on the old airfield, and Manoel Crescêncio Santiago street runs along its former crosswind runway (Wikipedia, Arraial d'Ajuda).

What's there

• A 1549 church on the cliff - among the oldest in Brazil, with the coastal view.
• Rua do Mucuge - the lane of bars and restaurants running down from the square.
• Pitinga beach - coloured cliffs and rock pools below the village.
• A ferry approach - the crossing from Porto Seguro over the Buranhem.

When to go

September to March. Three days. Peak season is packed.

Things to know

The ferry queues badly in high season, sometimes for hours with a car. Nightlife noise reaches most of the village centre. Beaches are reached by steep paths or by buggy. Prices rise sharply from December.

Nearby

Trancoso is south down the coast; Porto Seguro is across the river.

Key facts