The historic path
Old bridges and steps.
Papa Pic from Eldorado, Argentina — CC0 · Catarina Saito — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Catarina Saito — CC BY-SA 4.0 · André Ganzarolli Martins — CC0
Costa da Lagoa is a village on the western shore of the Lagoa da Conceição in the middle of Santa Catarina Island, with no road access: you arrive by boat or on foot. Boats run from the Freguesia da Lagoa and from Rio Vermelho, and a historic path of about 5 km along the shore links it to the Freguesia, with bridges, stairways and ramps built by its early inhabitants that are still its only land route. Along the path, old townhouses, mills and ruins appear among the trees or in small clusters of houses, traces of centuries of Azorean settlement. The steep slopes keep fine remnants of the island's original forest, with birds such as the azure jay and toucans, monkeys, and now and then a rare otter. You can walk one way and come back by boat.
Old bridges and steps.
Across the lagoon.
Birds and monkeys.
West shore of the Lagoa da Conceição, Florianópolis
By boat from the Freguesia da Lagoa or Rio Vermelho, or on foot along a historic path of about 5 km.