Paraty is one of the most incredible places to visit! So don’t limit yourself to the Historic Center only, there we have several options for you to know the best of the city. We have already talked here about the Royal Road and about the Boat Trips in Paraty. In this post, we are going to talk everything about Trindade!
Trindade is one of the options for you to know during your stay. It’s a neighborhood with easy access and even with places to stay. In this post, we will tell you all about this beautiful place of Paraty.
Trindade
Trindade is a neighborhood in the municipality of Paraty that is about 30 kilometers from the city center. Despite not having a documented history, a lot it has reached today due to the involvement of caiçaras in the growth of the area.
Costa Verde is the coastal area that extends from the south of Rio de Janeiro to the north of São Paulo, the area can be accessed by the BR-101, or the famous Rio-Santos. The tour itself is beautiful and we call it Costa Verde due to the presence of the well-preserved Atlantic Forest.
We know that the whole region we call Costa Verde it was very inhabited by indigenous people from different cultures. With the Portuguese colonial expansion and the discovery of gold in Minas Gerais, Paraty became one of the most important ports in Brazil.
To know more, read our post about the History of Paraty.
In the 1970s, Trindade became a hippie “refuge” and with the opening of the BR-101 Highway, the famous Rio-Santos, the region started to be discovered by several tourists. Today, tourism corresponds to an expressive part of the city’s economic development.
The region we now call Trindade is now part of the Parque Serra da Bocaina national reserve, which since 2008 take care of the area bringing ecotourism stands while preserving the diversity of fauna and flora.
In addition, Trindade neighborhood is also part of the Caiçuru Preservation Area, created in 1983. This APA is linked to the Chico Mendes Institute and the Ministry of the Environment.
Did you know that the city of Paraty has more than 63 islands? This institute tries to protect not only the biodiversity of places like Ponta Negra, Saco do Mamamguá, Praia do Sono and Trindade, but also it tries to protect the caiçaras communities in the region.
Caiçaras correspond to the people who live on the coast of southern Paraná until Rio de Janeiro. It’s a mix of Indians, Portuguese and blacks people who lived in these areas and they are now a traditional community with their own cultural manifestations.
The caiçara economy is summed up in subsistence farming and artisanal fishing. And today, industrial fishing is one of the biggest complications for this traditional community. That’s why the protection by public institutes is essential.
Serra da Bocaina Park
The Park was created in 1971 and it manages the south coast of Rio de Janeiro and north of São Paulo (cities of Paraty, Angra dos Reis, Ubatuba, Areias, São José do Barreiro and Cunha). It’s the second largest conservation unit in the Atlantic Forest and it tries to implement quality tourism in these regions and it respects the ecosystem and diversity.
We can visit the Park in two ways: contemplating the mountains or the coast. Through the mountains, the access is through the municipality of São José Barreiro in São Paulo and from there we can see incredible waterfalls and viewpoints of the forest. The Park has a lot of things to do, from more passive activities like bird watching or more active activities like mountain biking and hiking.
An incredible place to visit on this side of the Park is the Caminho de Mambucada, also known as the Gold Trail.
During the exploration of gold, two Royal Roads were created to connect the production of the gold mines and the coast. Today, we know these paths as New and Old. The Caminho Velho (Old road) is the link between Ouro Preto and Paraty, but clandestine paths soon emerged to avoid the official roads that it used to charged taxes and it had greater inspection
Some agencies offer tours to the Caminho da Mambucada, it lasts about three days exploring the interior of the Park, leaving São José reaching Angra dos Reis.
The Litoral side is accessed by the beaches of Trindade.
How to get to Trindade?
As we already said, Trindade is about 30 kilometers from Paraty. Access can be done by bus leaving from Rodoviária de Paraty, on Avenida Roberto Silveira, five minutes away from the Historic Center. Buses leave daily every half an hour.
A nice tip for those who are moving by bus through Paraty: at the bus station itself, we have a board with all departure times for all places around the city. It’s worth taking a picture and to plan better your days and tours. The journey takes about 40 minutes to 1 hour.
The waterfalls are also nice spots and easily accessible by bus. The most famous and a mandatory stop is the Tarzan Toboggan. We already talked about this place on our blog!
If you are driving, the trip from Paraty to Trindade is also super easy. A large part of the route is made through Highway BR-101, Rio-Santos. By car, the trip can take around 40 minutes.
I always recommend Trindade for sunny days. The neighborhood has a small fishing village and beautiful beaches. It’s one of the most beautiful spots in the area and this place is not included in the Boat Tours itinerary.
Boat Trips
Many people ask me which is the best. In fact, they are two different options. The Schooner Tour is a full day tour that already has defined stops, with lunch included or not. Most agencies offer the Schooner Tour and the price depends the number of hours, stops or benefits they offer.
Smaller boat rentals can be made directly at Largo de Santa Rita, close to the Church, or at the Tourism Pier itself. The price depends because it’s a private tour. You can choose to be only at sea, visit a specific island, stay 2 or 5 hours. This is ideal for couples or groups that want more privacy.
Another service offered is the Speedboat Tour. Some agencies offer the Speedboat as an option for families and couples looking to personalize the tour.
Where to stay?
The village of Trindade has a lot restaurants, supermarkets, bars and snack bars. Nowadays, it offers places to stay. Many tourists prefer to stay in Trindade on weekends with festivals or holidays (Flip, Bourbon, Easter).
The hostels options are: Ti Hostel Trindade close to the beach with a score of 9.2 on Booking. Another option further away, about 8 kilometers from the beach, is Hostel Radical Adventure with a score of 9.0.
Pousadas (Inn) are the most search accommodations in the region. I recommend looking on sites like Booking to compare prices and see the best option for you (couple, family, friends). A form of accommodation also quite common in the neighborhood is “Rent houses”, you can see the ads on hotel or Airbnb websites.
If you want to know places to stay in Paraty, read our post about “Where to stay in Paraty?”
Beaches
Praia do Cepilho, Praia de Fora and Ranchos: Praia de Cepilho is the first beach for those arriving in Trindade neighborhood. Next to it, we have a parking lot that guarantees convenience for those who visit it. This beach is suitable for surfers because the waves are very strong. Continuing the sand strip, we have another beach, Praia de Fora.
At Praia de Fora, we have facilities – kiosks, restaurants – to serve tourists. It’s a great option to take children, since the other beaches on this list are accessed by trail.
Because it’s an extensive sand strip, many people confuse the three beaches together. But there is a big difference, especially in children’s safety due to the currents and waves.
The last beach of these 3 is Praia dos Ranchos. In this area, we have a restaurant that gives greater support to tourists. Sometimes with live music.
Praia do Meio: In this area, we have street vendors selling typical beach stuff and a larger structure because Praia do Meio has access to Vila de Trindade. During the weekend, this is the busiest place compared to other beaches.
Usually, who comes by bus to Trindade, Praia do Meio is the first beach that we have real contact because it is close to the final stop of the Trindade> Paraty bus.
The next recommended beaches on this list are usually accessed by trails of medium difficulty. However, in Praia do Meio, some people offer the service of crossing by boat to the Natural Pool of Cachadaço. The crossing takes about 5 minutes and the price varies between 10 and 15 reais.
It’s also at Praia do Meio that we can go to the “Pedra que Engole”. We’ll talk more about that location at the end of this post.
Praia do Cachadaço: It’s the beach with the largest sand strip in the region. It’s one of my favorite points in Trindade! The trail from Praia do Meio to Cachadaço is of medium difficulty with about 400 meters and it’s the only way to access it. The boatmen only do the service from Praia do Meio to the Natural Pool.
From this section, we enter the Serra da Bocaina Park, an area of environmental protection. Along the beach, we have an extensive sand strip with several freshwater showers. In addition, on this beach we have a kiosk for lunch or snacks.
I always recommend to arrive early in Trindade. You can enjoy all the hikes, the Praia do Cachadaço and the Natural Pool whole day!
Cachadaço Natural Pool: The highlight of your tour! Trindade’s natural pools are very famous and everyone wants to visit. As we said before, you can access it by boat which costs around 10 to 15 reais or a medium-difficult trail that lasts about 700 meters.
In this place, we have no sand, only rocks. The height of the water in the Natural Pool depends on the sea level, I already had two experiences with high and low, but both ways I could enjoy a lot! If you are thinking to spend the day only at the Natural Pool you have to bring food and drink with you, there isn’t kiosks and restaurants in the Natural Pool.
A super cool view that we have in the Trindade Natural Pool is the famous “Cabeça do Índio” stone. It is a rock formation that people gave the shape to an Indian in profile. That stone, in fact, marks the division between the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
Pedra que engole waterfall
Very close to the Praia do Meio, we have a waterfall that carries a funny name: the “swallowing stone”!
You can hike for 15 minutes (don’t worry, it’s very easy!) from Praia do Meio to the waterfall. The trail from Praia do Meio to Pedra has a distance of 700 meters with medium difficulty. Be aware if it rained in the days before your tour
And when you arrive there, you can slip between the rocks of the waterfall and dive into a little cave (that’s why the name!). It’s super cool!
Be sure to join our Paraty Free Walking Tour and don’t miss a thing! We will tell you all the history and detals of the city.