Parati

It can be reached from São Paulo by taking the Rodovia dos Trabalhadores and Via Dutra to São José dos Campos and then SP 99 in the direction of Caraguatatuba, which runs into BR 101 80km/50mi before Parati.

History

The little port of Parati, founded in the 17th century, enjoyed a period of prosperity in the first half of the 18th century thanks to the gold of Minas Gerais, which was shipped from here to Rio de Janeiro. SP 171, from Guaratinguetá via Cunha to Parati, follows a section of the old gold trail on which the bandeirantes made their way through the inhospitable Serra do Mar. It is estimated that more than 1000 tons of gold was transported on this route to the port on the Rio Perequà-Aáu, to be shipped from there to Portugal. In its heyday the town had some 1700 houses and 150 sugar-mills; and nine forts on the mainland and the offshore islands protected the gold- and sugar-exporting port from attack. After the opening of the Camino de Garcia Pais, a direct road from the mining region to Rio de Janeiro, however, Parati rapidly fell into oblivion, and perhaps as a result of this was able to preserve many of its old colonial buildings. It is now a tourist center of international fame and has been the setting of many films.