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.

History

Paulo Dias Adorno and Afonso Rodrigues came here from Portugal in 1531, beginning a century of conflict with the indigenous people, and in 1654 João Rodrigues Adorno rebuilt a fortified house and the chapel of Nossa Senhora da Ajuda, the first in Cachoeira. The settlement was called Nossa Senhora do Rosário from 1674 and became the second town of Bahia by royal charter in 1693, growing rich on sugar and gold from the Rio de Contas as the link between the Recôncavo and the interior; it was a centre of the struggle for the independence of Bahia in the early 19th century and became a city on 13 March 1873 (Wikipedia, Cachoeira).

Highlights

• 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.

Before you go

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.

Key facts