Welcome to Porto de Galinhas!

This famous beach town, located in Ipojuca in the province of Pernambuco, is 60 kilometres away from the nearest major city, Recife. Porto de Galinhas actually means 'Port of Chickens‘, a name with an interesting story behind it. Recife is home to many sugar plantations that were earlier manned by black slaves brought in from Africa. In the second half of the 19th century, Brazil banned the import of black slaves and the ships bringing them had to land in smaller bays and ports near Recife. Since even the mention of the word slavery was banned, the ships would say that they had brought ‘chickens' and so this small but beautiful bay in Ipojuca began to be known as the Port of Chickens or, Porto de Galinhas. Even today, handicrafts from Porto de Galinhas bear the ‘chicken' motif.

The main highlight of Porto de Galinhas is its 18-kilometre long beach with beautiful reefs and natural pools created by the ebb of the high tides. These small pools (piscinas naturais), apart from being repositories of some rare and beautiful marine life, are child friendly, safe and ideal for lazing around and sun bathing. Small sailboats (jangadas) operated by the fishermen ferry tourists to these pools. The 'Map of Brazil‘ is the most famous among these pools, as it resembles the shape of Brazil and is ideal to visit on a tour in Porto de Galinhas. This pool is a protected area and tourists are not allowed to enter it, but you can happily swim in the other tide pools. The other attraction of Porto de Galinhas is the giant Baobab tree. This, along with the mangroves and coconut groves, may be visited in kayaks or rafts on Porto de Galinhas tours.

Porto de Galinhas is, in many ways, still a small fishing village and all commercial activity is centred in and around the pracinha or the central square. Most restaurants, shops,  and other establishments are located in the streets leading from the pracinha, while the areas further away are purely residential. The shops sell anything from local handicrafts and jewellery with precious and semi precious stones, to bikinis, kites and other knick-knacks that are such an integral part of a beach holiday. Restaurants in Porto de Galinhas are located along the beach and in the square, and dish up authentic Brazilian Porto de Galinhas hotelscuisine along with some traditional Brazilian liquor.

There are a fair number of Porto de Galinhas hotels along the beachfront. The accommodation options in Porto de Galinhas are sure to suit every pocket, from homey, small pousadas to plush hotels and luxury resorts. Nightlife in Porto de Galinhas is vibrant and centres around the small bars and clubs that dot the beaches. These establishments look like innocuous shops (galleria) during the day, but come night and they throb with dance and music! You should take a look at our map of Porto de Galinhas, which allows you to choose your hotel in Porto de Galinhas based on its location.

Porto de Galinhas offers all the ingredients for an idyllic holiday; warm waters, clean beaches, beautiful sunshine, wonderful weather and good tourist infrastructure. Lie back and while away your time, let the cantadores on the beach sing you a lullaby, fly a kite, sample some delicious Brazilian macaxeira (sweet tapioca), sip on some caipirinha (a sugar cane based liquor), drink out of a freshly opened coconut, feed the brightly coloured fish in the natural pools, marvel at the baobab tree, head out to the seahorse breeding farm, snorkel and explore the ship wrecks and round off the day at one of the lively bars. Welcome to Porto de Galinhas!