Discovery Coast

The Discovery Coast is one of the harder sites to visit in Brazil. It is centered around the city of Porto Seguro, which isn’t that well-connected to the rest of the Northeast. Also, it involves renting a car and the best part of the day to get anywhere close to the core zone and get a feel for its OUV. So although it was on the initial itinerary of my 2022 Brazil trip, I dropped it in the final preparations as it just seemed too much hassle for an unsure reward.

Fast forward to December 2022: travelling in Brazil turned out to be a breeze, everybody is just flying anywhere and my first car rental had turned out fine. So as I knew that I had a spare day each in Sao Paulo and Rio, I started looking for flights that would allow me to ‘do’ the Discovery Coast as a day trip from there. And I found a flight by Azul that leaves from Rio Santos Dumont to Porto Seguro at 7.30 in the morning, arriving at 9.00. Choosing a return flight in the evening would leave ample time on the ground to look at some forest!

During my first preparations, I had set my eye on the location called “Veracruz Station” – lately renamed to “Veracel Station”, as it is sponsored by a bioeconomy firm. This lies just 15km outside of Porto Seguro, probably even reachable by an Uber from the airport. They require booking …

This entry consists of several components, but beware - only some of them are available for visiting. Places such as Una Biological Reserve and CEPLAC Experimental Station are open only to scientists and cannot be visited by tourists. The most popular components are definitely open - Discovery National Park, Monte Pascoal National Park and Pau Brasil National Park. I and my family visited only the latter.

Be warned that Google Maps gives inaccurate coordinates for Pau Brasil NP. Actually the Visitors Center is located near Arraial d'Ajuda. To get there, follow the BA-001 road towards Trancoso and, a few kilometers after the junction with the BA-986 road, turn right following the signs.

We got to the Visitors Center at 1.15 pm and although the park was officially open, tourists were only allowed in until 1.00 pm. Fortunately, the ranger took pity and called a guide who arrived in half an hour and took us to the park. I paid 140 reais for admission tickets for the whole family, with a guide and an off-road car included in the price.

A guide in Pau Brasil is essential, as is a decent 4WD car (although you can also visit the park by bike, tours are organized from Arraial d'Ajuda). From the Visitors Center to the hiking paths it was necessary to drive a few kilometers in a very dense forest, on a terrible road. There are about 10 different routes available on site, but due to the late hour, …

It was surprising to me to see this WHS hasn't been yet reviewed. Discovery Coast is by no means a difficult place to reach or uninteresting area to be looked down, all the way around. It is made up of several Atlantic Rainforest reserves, most of them close to Porto Seguro, a vibrant city (and with a famous carnival) that is also situated in the area where the first Portuguese colonizers arrived in Brazil (year 1500).

I have visited this reserves many times when I was a kid and also recently with my father. I could not see (and I doubt there is, at least for the casual tourist) any significant distinction between Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest (in States of Bahia and Espírito Santo) and the Atlantic Forest South-East situated more southerly (in São Paulo and Paraná States).

In any case, the exuberance of the tropical rainforest (along with good trekkings, waterfalls, birdwatching, etc.) usually pays off the visit. Do not expect, however, the same facilites and tourist infrastructure that can be found in Iguaçu or other more famous sites in Brazil.