This hourglass-shaped island at the mouth of the Baía de Paranaguá is the most pristine and picturesque beach resort in all of southern Brazil, offering mostly wild beaches, good surfing waves and scenic coastal walks. The island’s tranquility and lack of development are thanks in part to its isolation. Accessible only by boat, Ilha do Mel is traversed by sandy paths and has not a single car, so traffic jams throughout the island’s scenic sandy lanes consist of surfboard-toting Brazilians on bicycles and bedazzled foreigners in their new Havaianas.
The fatter, northern half of the island is an ecological preserve, closed to inland exploration. The hillier southern portion is the locale of three small villages: Nova Brasília and Praia do Farol near the isthmus; and Encantadas at the far southern tip. They can be rowdy during the summer holidays, when young crowds descend on the island. But for the most part, Ilha do Mel, or ‘honey island,’ is the territory of surfers, campers, beachcombers and other escapists in search of simplicity and serenity.
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| Photo Flickr by ferias de mochila |
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| Photo Flickr by jessica pirovani |
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| Photo Flickr by Michel Adamo |
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| Photo Flickr by Sergio Gonçalves |
Source: lonelyplanet
