Canoa Quebrada

Canoa Quebrada was a fishing village that hippies found in the 1970s, and the crescent moon with a star carved into the red cliff dates from that period and became the local emblem. The cliffs themselves are the setting - banded red and ochre sandstone dropping to the beach, with dunes behind and jangada sailing rafts on the sand. Buggy trips run along the coast over the dunes to Ponta Grossa and the Canoa lagoons, and there is a zip line down the cliff. Broadway, the main street on the clifftop, is the commercial and nightlife spine, busy through the evening in season. It is developed and lively rather than quiet, and the wind that brought kitesurfing here is constant from mid-year.

What you actually see

• Banded red cliffs - sandstone dropping straight onto the beach.
• The carved moon and star - the 1970s emblem cut into the rock face.
• Buggy runs over the dunes - the standard trip along the coast.
• Broadway - the clifftop street of bars and restaurants.

When to go

July to January. Two days.

Honest expectations

It is commercial and noisy in season, and Broadway runs late. Buggy drivers sell hard on the beach. Cliff erosion has closed sections of the path at times. The sea has strong current and few lifeguards.

Nearby

Aracati is inland; Majorlandia and Ponta Grossa are along the coast.