Cachoeira

Cachoeira sits on the Paraguacu at the head of navigation from All Saints Bay, and it grew rich on sugar and then tobacco, which is why a town of fifteen thousand has a full colonial centre of churches, townhouses and a nineteenth-century iron bridge to Sao Felix opposite. It was briefly the capital of Bahia during the war of independence in 1822. Its deeper significance is Afro-Brazilian: the Reconcavo was worked by enslaved Africans in enormous numbers, and Cachoeira holds Candomble terreiros, woodcarving workshops and the Irmandade da Boa Morte, a sisterhood of black women descended from those who bought freedom for others, whose August festival is one of the most important religious events in Bahia.

What you actually see

• A full colonial centre - churches and townhouses from the tobacco years.
• The iron bridge to Sao Felix - nineteenth-century, crossing the Paraguacu.
• Candomble terreiros - the town as a centre of Afro-Brazilian religion.
• The Irmandade da Boa Morte - the sisterhood and its August festival.

When to go

August for Boa Morte; any time otherwise. A day.

Honest expectations

The town is small and worn, with restoration well behind Salvador's. Boa Morte fills it completely and is a religious event rather than a spectacle - photography rules apply and should be respected. Accommodation is limited.

Nearby

Sao Felix is across the bridge; Salvador is two hours east.