Porto de Galinhas is one of the most famous beaches in Brazil; according to magazines and travellers, it is the best beach in Brazil.
Porto de Galinhas means Port of Chickens; in the second half of the 19th century, the Brazilian government imposed restrictions to the commerce of slaves, which were widely used as manpower in the sugarcane farms around Recife to circumvent the prohibition, the “black ships” (which transported slaves from Africa to Brazil) looked for other places to harbor, far from Recife. One such place was in the bays around Suape and Ipojuca, about 60 km to the South of Recife.
When a ship arrived in town, as it was prohibited to mention slavery, the word spread as “there are new chickens in the port”; hence, the place gained its name Porto de Galinhas.
Porto de Galinhas is in the northeast of Brazil, near the Equatorial line, which means sunny weather, warm sea, permanent breeze; Porto Galinhas is of easy access, under 100 km from a major city, Recife, with all its infrastructure, including a modern airport; Porto has a multitude of hotels and restaurants, catering for pockets of all sizes; this touristic infrastructure gives visitors all the comfort they want, leaving out stress and violence.
Until a few years ago, Porto de Galinhas was an anonymous small village of fishermen; today, it’s a famous small village of fishermen. Many of the locals still make a living out of the catches they get from the sea, the coconuts which abound in the palm tree plantations, the small commerce businesses.
Around the 1990s, some Brazilian celebrities (TV stars, sportsmen, politicians) discovered this place; from the social/gossip sections, Porto de Galinhas changed from a fishermen village to the playground of Brazil’s richest and most famous to become, soon, the beautiness of the place was widespread, and today Porto de Galinhas is one of the most important tourist destination in Brazil.
The village is still small. No more than a couple of streets, laid out in a maze-like grid. Every house which was barely large enough was turned into a hostel. There are several restaurants, shops (mostly beach wear), car rentals, agencies operating tours to the neighbourhoods.
Porto de Galinhas is about 60 km south of Recife. Many visitors come in package tours and are picked up at the airport in Recife and driven straight to Porto. The village gets crowded during high seasons, with tourists and residents of Recife, who are attracted by the night life of Porto.
The beach front is fully taken by hotels, with (few) restaurants in between. Recently, some large groups have invested in luxurious hotels, all of then located in the first line and during the night it’s possible to hear the grumble of the sea and the hot breeze passing for the coconut palms.
The beach line is 18 km long, all with white, fine grained, clean sand. There is a chain of reefs lining all along the coast. During the low tide, the water trapped by the reefs forms several natural pools; tourists can swim, dive and feed the fishes.
Having lunch with the feet into the sea is possible, during the low tide, restaurants serves meals on beach, and it’s possible to choose between succulent lobsters, fish from de sea or flavorful oysters with lime juice always folloied with a cold beer or caipirinha.
In the Port Galinhas immediacy there are many places of interest, we can find white sand beaches riding a buggy, natural parks where is possible to take a clay bath, or even more radical an of-road expedition through the plantation zone of sugarcane.
There are also magnificent waterfalls that can be reached by riding a horse or 4×4.
People in general are very hospitable and communicative and they like to talk about their country and what they do for living.
