Porto de Galinhas

Beach Village South Of Recife Known For Natural Reef Pools At Low Tide, Repeatedly Voted Among The Best Beaches In Brazil · Ipojuca, Pernambuco

Porto de Galinhas is a beach village about 60 kilometres south of Recife and one of the most popular beach destinations in Brazil, repeatedly voted among the country's best. Its fame comes from the reef that runs just off the main beach: at low tide the reef emerges and traps warm, clear pools full of small fish, and colourful jangadas, the traditional sail rafts, ferry visitors out to swim and snorkel in them. Some pools are shaped, with a little imagination, like fish and even the map of Brazil. The name, Port of Chickens, is a grim relic of the slave trade: after it was banned, enslaved people landed here were smuggled in crates declared as chickens. The village has grown into a busy resort of pousadas, shops and restaurants, with large all-inclusive resorts at Muro Alto to the north. Maracaípe beach nearby is for surfers and has seahorses in its mangroves, and the palm-lined Praia dos Carneiros, with its little chapel on the sand, is an hour south. The pools depend entirely on the tide tables.

Vila de Porto de Galinhas, Ipojuca, PE, Ipojuca, Pernambuco, Brazil

A village and public beaches, open at all hours. The one schedule that matters is the tide: the natural pools only exist for a few hours around low tide, so jangada trips run at different times every day and simply do not go when the tide is too high. Around full and new moon the low tides are deepest and the pools are at their best; around the quarter moons the low tide can be too shallow a drop for the pools to form properly, and some days have no useful daytime low tide at all. Check a tide table for the whole stay before booking nights, and plan the pools first. Jangadas are hired on the beach from registered raftsmen; there is no advance booking system worth relying on. Summer, New Year and Carnival are peak season with full pousadas and crowded pools, and resort transfers from Recife airport slow badly on Friday evenings.

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