Trindade

Trindade sits at the bottom of a steep road off the Rio-Santos highway, in a pocket of the Serra da Bocaina where forest comes down to the sand. Its recent history is a land fight: in the 1970s a developer claimed the area and residents and caicara families resisted eviction, occupying the land, and the village that exists is the outcome of that struggle. Beaches run east from the village on a coastal trail - Meio, Cachadaco, Caixa d'Aco - and the Piscina Natural do Cachadaco is the draw, a pool held between granite boulders where the sea comes in filtered and calm enough to snorkel. Caixa d'Aco is a near-enclosed cove reached by boat or a longer walk. The village is low-built and busy in season.

History

Trindade was home in turn to Tupi people, pirates and the Portuguese, and long a caiçara fishing village. In the 1970s hippies discovered its beaches, while ADELA, a multinational based in Luxembourg, set out to build a resort and luxury housing here, which led to conflict with the local people, and since the 1990s the village has lived largely from tourism (Wikipedia, Trindade, Rio de Janeiro).

Highlights

• The Cachadaco pool - sea water held clear between granite boulders.
• A coastal trail - Meio, Cachadaco and Caixa d'Aco in sequence east.
• Forest to the sand - Bocaina Atlantic forest behind the beaches.
• A village won by occupation - the outcome of the 1970s land fight.

When to go

April to October. Two days.

What to expect

The trail to Cachadaco is rocky and takes forty minutes each way, and the pool is crowded at midday in season. The access road is steep. Rain is frequent on this coast. Parking in the village is limited and charged.

Nearby

Paraty is north; Ubatuba is south over the Sao Paulo line.

Key facts