Guarda do Embaú - One of the hidden paradises in Brazil PHOTO ESSAY

Brazil is the second largest country in America, just a little behind the Unites States. It's one of the most known countries in the world for its distinguished culture with singular music, dances, food and of course soccer, carnival and caipirinha. Still when you ask about brazilian cities people heard of, the majority will only say Rio. Perhaps they will know Rio and São Paulo. If they are very good in geography they will know the capital city, Brasilia and a beautiful city in northeast which is closest to Europe and North America, hence very well visited, called Salvador.

But when you consider the dimensions of Brazil is easy to realize that the turists coming all the way to this country are losing the opportunity to see other amazing places besides the mainstream turistic cities. In this post I want to introduce you to one of the most beautiful places in southern Brazil called Guarda do Embaú. The city is 50km away from the nearest capital, Florianopolis, where I live. I visited Guarda a year ago during the winter, which in my opinion makes the best sunny days. And it was on a beautiful winter day that I got to take these pictures.

The way from Florianopolis to Guarda do Embau is already breathtaking. I'm a big fan of mountains and the road is next to beautiful green hills, so if you like road trips for the landscape you'll enjoy this 50 minutes ride from the capital to Guarda. One of these beautiful hills is Cambirela, one of the tallest in southern Brazil. I say hills because geographically speaking Brasil doesn't have mountains. I didn't get to shoot Cambirela because the road is too close from it so I couldn't get the perpective. But here is a picture from the road trip so you can get the idea.

When you get to Guarda do Embau the first thing you see is this river full of colorful boats. The river is located right in front of the beach. When the tide is high the river floods and cover the sand paths that allow people to access the beach. 

When I went there last winter the weather was a little chilling, (the south gets really cold during the winter) so I wasn't so interested on being at the beach. Instead I prefered to take a hike that goes around it and allows us to see an amazing view from Guarda. 

The next pictures don't really make justice to the beauty of this place but you can see why it's so special and underrated. The 2 pictures below show you the encounter of the sea with the river. When the tide is high the river gets deep and the color gets darker.

A shot from the end of hike. 

And a picture of me at some point on the hike. Behind me, the beautiful sea of Guarda do Embau.

In case you are considering visit Latin America, the best thing you should do is planning to see these hidden places that the mainstream turists don't go. Brazil is huge and full of beautful places like this one so there's no reason to stick to only up to 3 cities. Do your trip and yourself a favor a see more than what is expected! 



Share you thoughts and let me know if you have ever been to South America or are planning to!