Ilheus

About Ilheus

Ilhéus sits on Brazil's Cacao Coast, and the sweet smell of cocoa actually does hang in the air near the old plantations. Cruise ships dock at Porto de Malhado, a short walk from the historic centre where pastel-coloured colonial buildings line narrow streets. The city boomed during the cacao trade, and novelist Jorge Amado set several of his books here, giving the place a literary reputation that persists. The Casa de Cultura Jorge Amado, housed in the building where he lived as a child, is worth a stop for fans of his work. The beaches south of town are long and uncrowded, with warm water year-round. Afro-Brazilian culture runs deep in this part of Bahia, from the food (try acarajé, a fried bean cake filled with shrimp) to the capoeira circles that appear on the waterfront. The city moves at a genuinely relaxed pace.

Port Location