The mountainous and calm green waters of the coast south of Rio, is named Costa Verde (‘Green Coast’). One of Brazil’s truly most beautiful landscapes, the Costa Verde is very accesible, thanks to the Rio-Santos BR-101 Highway. The Costa Verde’s biggest attractions for visitors include the offshore island Ilha Grande, mutiple idyllic beaches, and the quaint historical town of Paraty.
Paraty
About 300km from Rio on the BR-101 highway, is one of Costa Verde’s main attractions, the town of Paraty. The town centre’s narrow cobbled streets contain houses with brightly painted windows and doors, and beautiful courtyards with flowers and hummingbirds. Thc cobbles of the streets are arranged in channels to drain off storm water, allowing the sea to enter and wash the streets at high spring tides. It is a great place to wander around, day or night, with each corner bringing another picturesque view of either the quaint streets and churches, or the lush green mountains behind the town.