Paraty (Brazil)

Paraty (aka Parati) is a port town with population around 36,000. It is located on Costa Verde - lush green corridor running along the coastline of Rio de Janeiro state (Brazil). As tourist destination, Paraty is popular among tourists for its well preserved Portuguese colonial Old Town, scenic coast, beaches and mountains.

Once per month (during Full Moon and jigh tide), seawater rises from normal levels. The water pours into the Historic Center District via special openings in the seawalls separating the city and its harbour. The streets are flooded for a short time, till the tide recedes. The water is ordinarilly only 6-10 inches deep and merchants close to the seawall put out little bridges to span the flooded streets.

There are a lot of musical and cultural events in the city, the most prominent of which is Festa Literaria Internacional de Paraty or FLIP (International Literary Festival of Paraty). The city is also popular for its local festivals held on Catholic holy dates, like the Feast of the Holy Ghost.

The House of Culture (Casa da Cultura Paraty) occupies an 18th century house originally constructed in 1754 which opened to public in 2004 and holds permanent exhibition on local culture and history. In Salon of Indigenous Culture, tourists can see the “carpets” that are made of flower petals and colored sawdust used during the June festival of Corpus Christi. The largest is almost 8.5 m2 (92 ft2). The unique “carpet” is protected by glass and visitors can walk on it as they enter.

The city of Paraty played the part of Bahian town of Ilheus in Bruno Barreto film Gabriela, Cravo e Canela (1983), starring Sonia Braga and Marcello Mastroianni. It was also the setting for Isle Esme (place of Edward and Bella's honeymoon) in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn.