Castelhanos
Castelhanos Communitarian Based Tourism
Ilhabela, São Paulo, Brazil
We are caiçaras! A traditional population that for many years has lived in partial isolation, and for this reason established a very close relationship with nature. Our ancestral roots and our unique culture are a result of miscegenation with slaves coming from Africa, European pirates who landed in Ilhabela, indigenous natives who occupied our island and, more recently, of Asian influence from whom we adopted our style of artisan fishing. Castelhanos Bay, surrounded by the Atlantic Forest, became our territory, and nowadays we live in what are called traditional caiçara communities.
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We have always enjoyed receiving visitors and telling tales, and we would like to have more people visiting our caiçara villages and familiarizing themselves with our culture. The years pass, but the culture that we developed, based on nature, persists to date. It is in our gastronomy, our arts and crafts and in our families’ daily activities
and that you shall be able to experience all this when you visit.
ABOUT ILHABELA AND CASTELHANOS BEACH
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The archipelago of Ilhabela, composed of the islands of São Sebastião, Búzios and Vitória, is located on the north coast of the State of São Paulo, 210 kilometers from the capital. 85% of its area is inside a total protection unit, the Parque Estadual de Ilhabela, ‘Ilhabela State Park’, and is one of the largest preserved areas of Atlantic
Forest in the entire state.
The Island of São Sebastião is the largest of these islands and seats the municipal headquarters. The three islands harbor the 17 Traditional Caiçara Communities, which occupy a total area of approximately 2,500 hectares. Situated on the ocean side of the Island of São Sebastião, Castelhanos Bay is surrounded by hills and beaches and boasts some of the most beautiful landscapes of the region. Its position, partially isolated from the urban center, invites visitors to
indulge in even closer contact with nature. The bay has large areas of Atlantic Forest with rich biodiversity, trails and some waterfalls.
Approximately 75 families live in Castelhanos Bay, in the traditional communities of Castelhanos, Mansa, Vermelha, Figueira and Saco do Sombrio. Castelhanos Beach is the largest in the bay and the only one with land access via the Park Road. It contains about 40 families divided into two caiçara villages – Canto do Ribeirão and Lagoa Communities, both located respectively in the northern and southern extremities of the beach. Nobody knows for sure where the name Castelhanos originated. Some say it arose during the colonial period, when a Spanish pirate ship ran aground in the bay and its crew circulated around Ilhabela speaking Castilian Spanish. Others believe its origin to be more recent, when, in 1916, the Spanish ship Príncipe de Astúrias left its mark on history with the largest shipwreck on the Brazilian coast.
parceiros
