PAQUETÁ

Description

Essentials about Paquetá in brief

If you are looking for a little peace and relaxation from the hustle and bustle of Rio’s big city, you would do well to make your way to Paquetá by boat. Paquetá is a small group of islands in the Bay of Guanabara, located east of the much larger island of Ilha do Governador. The largest island of the group is the eponymous Ilha de Paquetá. It is car-free, only bicycles and horse-drawn carriages operate on the island.

The ride to Paquetá

Already the boat trip to Paquetá is a beautiful experience. The boat dock is located directly at the Praça XV de Novembro in the center of Rio. The trip to Paquetá takes about 45 minutes by catamaran (on weekdays) and 70 minutes by regular ferry (on weekends) and guarantees wonderful views of Rio de Janeiro and the Bay of Guanabara.

The history of Paquetá

The island of Paquetá was discovered in 1555 during the French expedition of Nicolas Durand de Villegagnon by the cosmographer André Thevet. With the victory of the Portuguese over the French, the island became Portuguese property in 1565, the same year in which Rio de Janeiro was founded.

The name of the island comes from the Indian Tupi language and means “many shells”, which refers to the numerous shells on the beaches of the island. There are twenty baobabs on Paquetá, the only specimens in Brazil. One of them is called “Maria Gorda” (“Fat Maria”), and is kissed by the inhabitants for good luck.