Salvador, Brazil

Culinary & Nightlife

This tour itinerary is tailored so you can contemplate the historic places and night-time ambiance of Salvador. What's more, meet the Bahian people and become acquainted with their heritage. This tour includes dinner in a traditional restaurant that offers typical cuisine - a mixture of remarkable and unforgettable delicacies and flavors. The celebrations and festivities in the streets are unique spectacles, but during this evening experience you will also attend a spectacular show of Bahian culture, which will allow you to gain a better understanding of what Bahia is all about! The music and the sound of drums, will enable you to feel the magic of the sacred dances of the African gods. Witness the legacy of a resistance struggle through Capoeira and Maculele, ancestral dances that symbolize the freedom of black people in Brazil, and the beautiful Roda de Samba, a trademark of Brazilian musicality.

The Bahian Recôncavo is a region renowned for its history of struggles for the independence of Brazil. The architecture of its cities, especially of the city of Cachoeira, reflects the Portuguese colonial heritage, along with the African legacy which is present in the faces of its inhabitants, its intellectual, religious and cultural traditions in the daily life of its inhabitants.  The tour begins in Santo Amaro, a city whose economy was mainly driven by the sugar cane plantations and enslaved labor until 1888. This town is of great historical significance, particularly in the context of resistance against Portuguese colonization. You will stroll around the local public market and its ancient colonial houses, as well as visit the Samba Museum and the Parish Church. You will then drive by sugar cane, cassava and tobacco farms towards Cachoeira, the main city in the Recôncavo region. The city was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, located alongside the Paraguaçu River. It's a singular scenario in terms of architectural and cultural preservation. You will visit the churches of Carmo and Rosário, the City Hall and the former jail from the colonial era. You will also visit the House of the Religious Sisterhood of Our Lady of the Good Death. This Catholic sisterhood of African Matrix is a living legacy of matriarchal religious syncretism, which fills Recôncavo's people with pride, preserving the rich history of black resistance in Bahia and Brazil. The culmination of their religious and cultural festivities takes place during the month of August. Local businesses also reflect this cultural wealth, where customers can purchase beautiful carvings, embroidery and paintings produced in the region. You will cross the Paraguassu river using the bridge built by the British in 1830, giving access to the town of São Felix towards a farm strategically located in the hills surrounding the city, which will allow you an exquisite panoramic view of the region.  On this farm, lunch with typical local dishes will be served. Then, you will visit the renowned Danneman cigar factory, founded in the nineteenth century, where the tradition of producing handcrafted cigars is maintained. You will then return to the hotel.

Experience the exotic flavors and aromas of Salvador (São Salvador da Bahia), and learn about the African, Portuguese and indigenous legacies of its cuisine. Meet a family from the community and learn how to prepare and cook some Afro-Brazilian food. Follow an itinerary carefully crafted to provide the best flavors for your palate at a cooking class run in accordance with traditions and religious customs. Chat with the family as you prepare your own lunch!  Start with a visit to a seafood market, and learn about the best fish to use for different types of recipe. Prepare to cook a fish stew known as "moqueca" (a typical Afro-Brazilian local dish). Pick up some vegetables at another food market, along with some tropical fruit that you will use to make a caipirinha (Brazil's national cocktail). Next, prepare the delicacies in a popular neighborhood, guided by your host family. Discover how to prepare the dishes according to Afro-Brazilian traditions, and savor the flavors of the African Diaspora. As their ancestors would say: "ajeum" ("eating is sacred").

Discover the Baroque architecture of Pelourinho, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The buildings date to the 18th century, and are an expression of the grandeur of European colonization. On this 4-hour tour you’ll experience an event known as Tuesday's blessings, meant to ensure the preservation of the musical identity of Bahia, the cradle of Brazilian musicality. After a Catholic Mass is celebrated with elements of African religions in the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of Blacks, the streets of Pelourinho come alive with music and dance. Try a variety of dishes and delicacies of African-European heritage in bars, restaurants and street tents. Experience world-famous Bahian hospitality.

Start your tour in the Barra region of Salvador and see its beautiful beaches, such as Porto da Barra and Farol da Barra. Take a photo stop at Dique do Tororó, where you can see statues of African gods overlooking the Fonte Nova Arena, one of the venues for the 2014 World Cup. Visit the workshop of a well-known local artist, try some of the best ice cream in Bahia, and stroll among its historic buildings and churches. See the Church of Gold, the Rosary Church, and others. Admire the beautiful views while descending on the Lacerda elevator and end your tour at the Mercado Modelo.

The city of Salvador safeguards in its daily life, African traditions that have been preserved in maroon community havens through centuries. In this itinerary, you'll have the opportunity to experience this magic energy present in this legacy of freedom struggles, and struggles to preserve the religious traditions of people in Bahia. You will begin the tour in the historic region Salvador, considered by Unesco a World Heritage Site, the renowned Pelourinho. This visit includes the Afro Brazilian Museum, which assembles a rich collection of the history of black people. You then proceed to the railway suburbs, and observe the urban landscape changes that have occurred in of territories of enslaved descendant communities. You will visit the largest open market in the city, also listed as an intangible heritage of Brazil, the São Joaquim Market, founded by enslaved Africans in the XIX century. Next you visit the old port of arrival of Africans and a slave market, followed by a visit to the first candomble terreiro of yoruba origin founded in the new world, the matriarchy grounded terreiro ile iya axe nasso oka. To finish the tour, you visit the queen of the sea house, located by the beach Rio vermelho, at a fishermen community that built an altar in reverence to that African divinity from the sea, the orixá iemanjá. Every year, on February 2nd, the greatest ceremony offered in honor of an African Orixa, which gathers up over 400.000 people. You may also enjoy the opportunity of having lunch in a black community, in the company of a family with over 50 years of tradition, which will serve the famous feijoada (homemade bean stew) in the Garcia neighborhood.