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| Bahia Vacations and Luxury Travel Packages |
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Bahia - with a land area of 561,000 square kilometers larger than France and with over 12,000,000 inhabitants the most densely populated state in northeastern Brazil - is famous for the splendid beaches that grace its 1,100-kilometer-long coastline. But the state's interior also has attractions that visitors might want to consider setting aside some time to see, among them the canyons and table mountains of Chapada Diamantina National Park, whose highest peak, Pico do Barbado, rises to 2,033 meters. Bahia also has Rio Sao Francisco, the thirdlongest river in South America, which was dammed in northern Bahia to create a 200-kilometer-long lake. The river traverses the state for 3,361 kilometers, finally meeting the Atlantic at the border with the two northern-lying neighboring states of Sergipe and Alagoas. Rio Sao Francisco was an inland shipping waterway for many years, and prior to construction of the Sobradinho Dam, the inhabitants of the Sertao had hoped that the river would provide some much-needed relief during periods of drought.
The region is not particularly rich in mammalian wildlife. However, owing to the fact that Bahia's coastal waters have not been overfished, the region abounds in marine life. For this reason restaurant menus along the Bahia coast offer a generous selection of superb seafood specialties, many of them inspired by the lively innovativeness of the various African cuisines that were brought to Brazil during the colonial period.
Cooking is not the only aspect of Bahian life on which black Africa has left its imprint: there is also a distinctive AfroBrazilian culture, including the Candomble cult, the capoeira "martial arts" dance, and infectious rhythms, all of which were already a strong presence in this region in the 16th century. The reason for this is pretty self-evident: The province's economy prospered during colonial times, in large measure owing to slaves, over four million of whom worked on Bahia's cocoa, tobacco and sugar plantations.
Until the mid-20th century, agriculture was the mainstay of the economy in northeastern Brazil. In 1960, 40 percent of the active labor force was working on plantations, but by the beginning of the 1990's the number had fallen to 15 percent, in great measure owing to recurring droughts in the latter decades of the 20th century. Spurred on by the discovery of petroleum in All Saints' Bay, Polo Petroquimico, an industrial center comprised of 70 petrochemical companies, was built north of Salvador in Camaqari. Important sources of regional income include petroleum and copper, as well as the gold and gem mines in the interior: Bahia produces aquamarines of unusually high quality.
About 55 percent of Bahians work today in the service, tourism and administrative sectors. The palm beaches, much-loved by southern Brazilians, also attract Europeans and other foreigners. |
Destinations within Bahia
| Ilha de Itaparica: Itaparica - with an area of 239 square kilometers, Brazil's largest Atlantic island - lies 17 kilometers off the coast of Salvador in All Saints' Bay and functions as a breakwater in the open sea. A number of companies provide regularly scheduled ferry service to the island, travel time to which varies from 20 to 50 minutes according to the type of boat you take. The island's heavy tourist traffic notwithstanding, its land is used primarily for agricultural purposes: fishing, cattle raising, and mango and cashew fruit growing are the main sources of income for Itaparica's 15,000 inhabitants. Most beaches and other tourist facilities, including the ferry terminal and Club Med, are concentrated on the southeast side of the island. A day's outing to Itaparica is certainly a worthwhile enterprise, although less so for visitors who favor the beach. |
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Ilheus: The 460 kilometers separating Salvador from the port city of IlMus (population 250,000) can be covered in seven hours by bus or 40 minutes by plane. Driving can be arduous, however, as there is no through coastal highway or other road linking the two cities. Ilhdus, founded in 1534, grew rich from cocoa production during the 18th century. The region around Ilhdus now accounts for 90 percent of Brazil's total output of cocoa, which in 1994 was 344,000 tons, making Brazil the world's second-largest producer. The Museu Regional do Cacau makes abundantly clear the importance of cocoa beans for this region, and Jorge Amado, who was born in nearby Pirangi, has immortalized Ilheus and the entire cocoa-producing region in his books. Vezuvio, a bar depicted in his novel Gabriela, Cinnamon and Cloves, is still in existence.
Tourists come here primarily for the city's seemingly endless string of perfect and - good news for devotees of deserted stretches of sand - often difficult-toaccess beaches that extend to the north and south farther than the eye can see. Located in a palm grove on an island in the Atlantic 81 kilometers south of Ilheus, the 250-room resort Transamerica Ilha de Comandatuba is one of Brazil's most exclusive beach hotels. |
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Porto Seguro: In 1500, Pedro Alvares Cabral landed 730 kilometers south of Salvador at this "safe harbor," thereby making this the first place in Brazil ever to be visited by a European. A marble stela erected in 1504 in commemoration of this event still stands in the upper city.
Porto Seguro is divided into a historic upper city and a business- and tourismoriented lower city. The Cidade Alta contains the oldest preserved church in Brazil, the Igreja da Misericordia, built in 1526 and later remodeled in Baroque style. Still older, but now only a ruin, is the Igreja da Gloria. Nossa Senhora da Penha, which dates from 1535, is significant from an art-historical standpoint, as it contains the oldest sacred image in Brazil, a painting of St. Francis of Assisi that was brought to Brazil by a Portugese expedition in 1503.
During the vacation months, both Porto Seguro and its neighbors to the south, Arraial d'Ajuda and Trancoso, become holiday centers for legions of young southern Brazilians. En route to the latter two cities, visitors take a ferry across the Rio Buranhdm. |
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Praia do Forte: A 50-kilometer drive north from the Bahia airport by way of Estrada de Coco rewards the visitor with the luxuriant beaches of Ipitanga and Arembepe, as well as the fishing village of Praia do Forte. In 1972, a German industrialist purchased Praia do Forte 7,000 hectares of tropical rain forest, a ruined building, and in a sense, its inhabitants, too - with a view to developing ecotourism; at the time still regarded as utopian. The practice of collecting tortoise eggs was banned, as was capturing songbirds or erecting any structure taller than a coconut palm. Permits were required to fell trees, and the fencing off of property was discouraged. And to prevent speculation, foreigners were not allowed to buy houses in the village.
The 200 apartments of the Praia do Forte Resort were built in the local style. Half of them are "eco-apartments," i.e., they have neither air-conditioning, televisions, nor radios. The restaurant is also free of air-conditioning, which means visitors can savor the copious breakfast buffet and excellent cooking without running the risk of catching a cold. The beach is right outside the hotel door, and the village and its numerous small restaurants are no more than a 15-minute walk away. The white sand beach, which is over 12 kilometers long (and on which the Tamar Project carries out its work of protecting sea turtles), is dotted with coconut palms, reefs and lagoons. |
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