Itamaraca Island

Itamaraca is joined to the mainland by a bridge, which makes it the easiest of the Pernambuco islands to reach, and its landmark is Forte Orange - a square fort with four bastions put up by the Dutch West India Company in 1631 during their occupation of the north-east, rebuilt in stone by the Portuguese after they recovered the territory. Archaeological work inside has exposed the original earth and timber outlines. The beaches behind the reef line at Praia do Forte and Jaguaribe have shallow calm water, and the Coroa do Aviao sandbank offshore is reached by raft. The island also holds a manatee rehabilitation centre run as part of a national programme for a species that has become rare along this coast.

What you actually see

• Forte Orange - Dutch-built in 1631 and later rebuilt in stone.
• Excavated earthworks - the original Dutch outlines exposed inside the fort.
• Reef-sheltered water - shallow calm swimming behind the line.
• A manatee centre - rehabilitation for a species now rare on this coast.

When to go

September to March. A day.

Honest expectations

The island fills at weekends with Recife day trippers and the bridge queues. The manatee centre has limited opening hours and rules that vary. Reef bathing depends on tide. Development on parts of the island is unattractive.

Nearby

Igarassu and its early colonial church are on the mainland; Recife is south.