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 Bahia - Culture

The State of Bahia is located in eastern Brazil, bathed by the Atlantic Ocean along the state's 932 kilometres of coastline, two bays, more than 100 islands and innumerable coves and river deltas. It was said that that the bay of Todos os Santos, on which Bahia lies, could hold all of the ships on earth. The beauty of Bahia leaves visitors breathless.

Salvador, the first capital of Brazil, is the place to start. There is an international airport in the city, through which tourists arrive from all over the world.

Bahia is the soul of Brazil, the land of carnival, candomble, capoeira, maculele  and samba. It's the land where people sing and dance in the streets, where the wealthy and poor get together to celebrate the popular holy days. Bahia - where sacred and profane live side by side in harmony. Bahia - the land of happiness.

It is affectionately said, "when Bahians are not actually participating in a festival they are rehearsing for one", and in a way it's true. The people of Bahia, a fusion of Africans, Native Americans and Europeans, are carefree and upbeat, always looking for a good time.

In Bahia is one of the most beautiful areas of the Brazilian coastline, combining sun, sand & palm trees in a seductive and irresistible manner. This is Praia do Forte, a rare tropical paradise, where one can find the perfect equilibrium between beaches, native culture and a carefully planned real estate development. Nature and history interact in total harmony in this stretch of coast that also includes the attractive Costa dos Coqueiros (Palm Tree Coastline), a destination point to thousands of tourists from the four corners of the world who seek Praia do Forte for leisure and entertainment.

Sapiranga State Park - 600 hectares of land preserved from the secondary Atlantic forest. This area serves as a sanctuary for different species of wild animals as well as some small monkeys listed among the endangered species. Pojuca River flows through the Sapiranga State Park and one can go rafting through its white waters or simply enjoy any of the many natural pools.

At the whale coast visitors can explore sunken vessels and underwater caves on professionally guided tours, gaze in wonderat reef formations with several rare species of coral, such as "brain coral", or simply admire one of the most beautiful marine landscapes on the Brazilian coast, and, depending on the time of year, it may even be possible to witness the spectacular water ballet of humpback whales.

The cuisine from Bahia dates back to the time of slavery when the masters saved scraps from the table or leftovers from the previous day's meal to give to the slaves. Some slaves were allowed to fish and look for shrimp and clams. Remembering their cooking-pot training from Africa, the women would put bits of ingredients together and add the milk of coconuts or the oil from the dendê palm. Over the years these concoctions were worked out in recipes and were given names. Today it is called Bahian food. Some of its delicacies are: Vatapá, Sarapatel and Carurú.

Bahia’s festivals include Festa da Conceicao da Praia, Festa da Boa Viagem, Festa do Bonfim, Festa da Ribeira, Festa de Sao Lazaro, Festa de Iemanja, Festa de Itapua, Festa da Pituba and Festa Juninas.

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