Paraíba

Sugar cane cultivation in Paraíba State began around the 16th century, promoting prosperity in the region. This fact has caused the Portuguese, French and Dutch to savagely dispute that territory. The result is the cultural and historic influence left as legacy by the three people, still present today – in the architecture, monuments and the green eyes of many paraibanos.

The State of Paraíba has in its capital, João Pessoa, a great attraction: It is considered the second most arborized city in the world, with more than 700 hectares of preserved forest – missing only to Paris, France. It has won this title in 1992, after a survey made by the UN in many urban centers around the world.

Full of parks and avenues packed with fruit and ornamental trees, João Pessoa has many forest reserves, not including the coconut trees and varios species of trees which constitute the maritime margin landscape – attracting thousands of tourists every year. On the outskirts of the capital are the most popular beaches in the State, such as Tambaú and Manaíra. Nearby it is possible to find one of the few Brazilian nudist beaches that is officially recognized, Tambaba.

Inland at the State is the city of Campina Grande, where one of the biggest Junine Parties in the world happens every year. Saint John´s night – celebrated on the Christian calendar on June 24th – gets a party at Povo Park, an area of 42 thousand m2 . Adorned with little flags and fires spread everywhere, the city of 350 thousand residents receive an average of 400 thousand visitors from all over the Country and abroad.

And on the paraibano countryside, another great attraction is the city of Sousa, sheltering a valuable treasure: Dinosaurs Valley – one of the most important paleontologic sites in the world, with footsteps from jurassic species, printed at least 70 million years ago. The track from the footsteps forms a path along the margins of the Peixe river, where many centuries ago lived the iguanodon and the alosaurus.

In Ingá, 96km from the capital, inscriptions engraved in rocks - known as Pedras or Itacoatiaras from Ingá - arise curiosity from scientists, students and tourists from everywhere. Surrounded with enigmas, the millennial inscriptions bring indecipherable symbols, of great archeological value. Three currents try to define its origin: They would have been written by natives from the region; the manifestation of a developed culture from another continent; or yet a message from extraterrestrials visiting our planet. Actually, no one knows for sure.

João Pessoa and Campina Grande concentrate good part of Paraíba´s economy, based on the leather industry, tourism and agribusiness.

But tourism has been the big star from the past few years. There, the visitor has the chance to know some of the most beautful beaches on the Brazilian coast, and also all the historic, cultural and archeologic, paleontologic and natural wealth that Paraíba State has got to offer. And it is worth enjoying the delicious local cuisine, based on seafood and on dishes prepared with jerked meat and manioc flour. The typical dish is “arrumadinho” – made with beans, jerked meat, tomatoes, onions, pepper, cilantro and manioc flour.

Travel in Paraíba State is an unmatchable experience.

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Estados Brasileiros - Paraíba