Barra do Cahy
Cabral's anchorage.
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Prado is a coastal town of about 37,000 people in the far south of Bahia, some 790 kilometres south-west of Salvador, with 84 kilometres of beaches and cliffs, living from fishing, farming and tourism. The start of Brazil's history is tied to its land: at Barra do Cahy beach in the north of the municipality, Pedro Álvares Cabral's fleet anchored by the reef on 22 April 1500 before heading north to Porto Seguro. The town grew from an Indigenous village on the bank of the Jucuruçu River, becoming a «vila» in 1755 and a city in 1886. Its lands hold the Descobrimento National Park, created in 1999 to protect 22,694 hectares of Atlantic forest, and part of the Corumbau marine reserve. Visitors come for its long beaches, its cliffs and the restaurants of its centre, and it is the gateway to the village of Cumuruxatiba.
Cabral's anchorage.
Along the coast.
A national park.
Prado, far south of Bahia state
Cabral's fleet first anchored off Barra do Cahy beach on 22 April 1500.