Morro de São Paulo – The Island That Never Sleeps

I travelled alone to Morro de São Paulo after a recommendation from a Random Guy I met at a party. I literally bought the bus tickets without even knowing what the hell the word Morro meant. All I knew was that there were lovely beaches and I could get there with little money by taking several means of transport.

I love difficult long road trips and of course, I didn’t think twice. 😛

Morro means Mountain or High Rock. It is located 60 km south of Salvador the Capital of Bahia. The panoramic views are amazing, the big forested mountain is surrounded by water of different colours, with small beautiful houses hidden in the trees and people coming from the deepness of the greenery to swim in the surrounding beaches.

The tiredness of trekking for more than 7 hours disappeared from within my body at the moment I reached this beautiful enclave. It is a car-free village by the way.

I just wanted to explore everything and have a dip in the welcoming beach. I managed to check into Hostel O’Dante, not a highly recommended place but due to my tight budget and weird, hippie welcoming owners who embraced my arrival, I decided to stay there.

Morro de São Paulo is an island and considered as a cultural heritage site. The picturesque town of stretch streets begins at the top of the Mountain which you have to climb a very long stairway at the entrance.

The streets are very crowded with a great variety of small colourful stores of artisans making shoes, mini markets, restaurants and hostels. It has 7 different beaches where you can do activities, such us sailing by catamaran, snorkelling or zip-line among others.

At first, I had this view that Morro was quite a relaxing island to have a short getaway with your family. Then I found out that there were several wild parties every other day that does not seem to end! In part, this is because, Morro de São Paulo is a tourist attraction for lots of young people especially from Argentina, where this Island is known as the perfect destination for travel, celebrate a graduation, bachelor party or just a trip with friends.

On the first day, I wandered to Beach Number 3 to enjoy the stunning sunset. Then I walked around the Malecon that is really charming at night, it is well illuminated, full of fancy restaurants, bars and many live music groups.

I joined a party with some new friends I made earlier during the day, had a wild night of parties and we all ended the day with an amazing sunrise at Beach Number 3. From sunset to sunrise, I was impressed with the beauty and energy of this place.

The second day I slept for only 2 hours after which the owner of the hostel invited me to do some snorkelling for free. The waters around the area were crystal clear and teeming with underwater creatures and I had an amazing dip in the water that awakens my senses from the hangovers of the previous night.

I realised that there are many secret and hidden paths in the middle of the jungle where you can see people arriving and leaving from the dense forestry and heading towards the beaches. I wonder where all these trails lead to. Probably another adventure for me to check out some other time. 🙂

That afternoon, I went to a nearby island where people take Clay Baths that left the skin really soft and supple. I covered my whole body from the tip of the nose to the tip of the toes and sunbathed myself till the clay dried up.

Refreshing experience!

The third and fourth day after another night of revelry, I woke up very early at 9 am because I wanted to explore all the other beaches. At this hour, the island seemed almost empty. I could see how the colours changed as the day passed from sky blue to Green and then vivid blue.

The tide gets to the lowest from 10 am to 12 am that day, letting me walk and swim into the sea between the corals and lots of fish. As I was really tired from all the previous day adventures, I wandered myself between beach 3 and 4, lay a mat and I fell asleep like for 2 hours, this place is really safe and perfect to rejuvenate myself.

On my last day here, I packed my stuff as my bus was leaving early. I had so much fun here that I had difficulty saying goodbye to this place and to the new friends I made. My advice to people heading to Morro de São Paulo is to plan for at least a week here to really immerse in the natural beauty as well as the party scene that never sleeps.

I realized that without knowing I had arrived at my paradise, I just want to return again someday.

Thank you, Random Guy.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are the author’s and in no way reflect the views and/or opinions of Fat Starfish.