The cliffs
Palm views.
Cape São Roque is a headland in Maxaranguape, about 51 kilometres north of Natal, on the great bend of Brazil's north-eastern coast, and is known as one of the points of the Brazilian coast closest to Africa. The cape has great historical importance: it was first officially visited by European navigators in 1501, during the Portuguese expedition to chart the coast led by André Gonçalves and Amerigo Vespucci, the first Portuguese exploration of the Brazilian coast, who named it after the saint whose feast fell on the day. The setting is striking, with some six kilometres of dunes along the shore and cliffs above the cape that look out over a vast forest of coconut and other palms to the blue horizon. A visit combines well with the nearby Maracajaú reefs on the same road north of Natal.
Palm views.
Six kilometres.
Vespucci's voyage.
Maxaranguape municipality, about 51 km north of Natal
About 51 kilometres north, roughly an hour by car.