Jabaquara Beach, Beach in Paraty, Brazil

Jabaquara Beach is a sandy stretch along Paraty's coast with forested mountains rising behind it and calm waters at its edge. The shoreline curves gently, with the Atlantic Forest vegetation growing close to where the sand meets the water.

The beach area served as part of Paraty's colonial trade network, connecting inland gold mines to Atlantic ports during the 16th and 17th centuries. The town grew as a major trading hub where goods moved between the interior and the sea.

Since 1986 the beach has hosted the Bloco da Lama, a carnival parade held on the Saturday of Carnival that starts on the sand and moves into the neighbourhood streets. Participants cover themselves in mud from the mangrove and wear straw and other organic materials. Around four thousand people take part.

The beach has restaurants and vendors offering chairs and umbrellas for rent along the sand. Arriving early gives you better options for seating and a quieter experience, especially on weekends.

The mangrove at the end of the beach is a nursery for fish, molluscs and crustaceans, and it supplies the mud for the Bloco da Lama: on Carnival Saturday about four thousand people cover themselves in it and parade from the beach into the neighbourhood streets, wearing straw and other organic materials.