For those who want to discover that Rio de Janeiro is just the beginning.
Just a few hours from the city, between the Serra da Bocaina and the sea, Paraty awaits as one of Brazil's best-kept secrets — a destination that captivates even before arrival, as the road moves away from asphalt and the landscape gives way to increasingly lush and untouched nature.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognized simultaneously for its historic center and its biodiversity, Paraty is a city that belongs in a category of its own.
The historic center is a trip back in time. Irregular stone streets, designed to be flooded by the tide and thus naturally cleaned, lead visitors through 18th-century churches, colonial mansions with colorful facades, studios, cachaça distilleries, and bistros that make Paraty one of Brazil's most sophisticated cultural and gastronomic destinations.
The artisanal cachaça is a chapter apart — the region produces some of the most awarded and celebrated in the country, and a visit to a traditional distillery is an experience that goes far beyond tasting. Around the city, the preserved Atlantic Forest holds trails, waterfalls, and hidden spots of beauty that silence any visitor.
But it is in the sea that Paraty reveals its most precious card. The bay, dotted with islands covered with vegetation that descend to the white sand, is a permanent invitation to navigation, diving, and contemplation. Crystal-clear waters, deserted beaches, and a horizon that seems hand-painted complete an experience that combines, with rare elegance, history, nature, culture, and beauty.
A trip that expands Rio — and that no one who goes once can resist wanting to repeat.