Porto de Galinhas

Before it had its present name, this stretch of shore was called Porto Rico, the rich port, for the brazilwood that grew behind it. Like the rest of southern Pernambuco it was drawn into the sugar economy, and Ipojuca, the municipality it belongs to, prospered from fertile soil and two natural harbours, Suape and Porto de Galinhas. A little to the north, in what is now Cabo de Santo Agostinho, some historians believe the Spanish navigator Vicente Yáñez Pinzón anchored in January 1500, months before the Portuguese under Pedro Álvares Cabral reached Brazil in April.

The village's name records one of the darkest chapters of that economy. From around 1850 the port became a landing place for the illegal trade in enslaved Africans. Enslaved people were hidden beneath crates of guineafowl, and the arrival of a ship was announced with the password "tem galinha nova no porto" — there are new chickens in the port. In time the place became known as Porto de Galinhas, the port of chickens.

Ipojuca itself became a district in 1895 and a city the following year. From the early 1990s Porto de Galinhas turned into a major tourist destination, and its reef pools were voted the best beach in Brazil by readers of the magazine Viagem e Turismo many years in a row. The crowds damaged the marine life, and from 2014 visits to the pools have been controlled; in 2026 the reefs joined a national coral conservation programme backed by the development bank BNDES.

Porto de Galinhas is, above all, a beach village shaped by its visitors, many of whom come from Recife for the weekend; locals simply call it "Porto". Its culture is the culture of the shore: jangada owners who take visitors out to the reef, beach vendors moving along the sand with snacks and drinks, and craft shops in the pedestrian zone selling local work alongside beachwear.

Surfing is the other identity of this coast. Maracaípe, just to the south, has been the surfing beach of Pernambuco for many years, hosting national and international championships and longboard events, and its surfers give it a different, more laid-back character. Surfers from Recife have come here especially since the shark attacks on the capital's beaches. At the Pontal de Maracaípe, kitesurfers ride the wind over the river mouth.

Conservation has become part of local life. Residents and environmentalists have long argued for protecting Maracaípe's mangroves from large buildings, a seahorse conservation project works at the Pontal, and the controls on the reef pools are now part of every visit. On full-moon nights in midsummer, visitors may be lucky enough to see sea turtles hatching on the beaches.

Porto de Galinhas is one of several villages of the municipality of Ipojuca, alongside Muro Alto, Cupe, Maracaípe, Serrambi and Suape; the whole municipality had about 107,000 people in 2025, according to the national statistics institute. Ipojuca has one of the highest GDPs in Pernambuco, driven by the tourism of its coast and by the Suape port and industrial complex to the north.

In the village, the working day follows the tide and the tourist season. Jangada owners, buggy drivers, guides, hotel and restaurant staff and beach vendors make up much of the workforce, and the busiest times are the summer holidays, New Year, Carnival and long weekends, when traffic from Recife fills the roads. The reef pools can be reached only at very low tide, for around two hours a day, so the rhythm of the beach changes daily with the tide tables.

The pressure of tourism is the main local issue. Research by the Federal University of Pernambuco has found that heavy visitor numbers trample and disturb the reefs, and the management of the pools — access control, monitoring and rules for visitors — is an ongoing effort, alongside debates over building near the beaches and mangroves.

Seafood is the heart of eating here: fried fish and shrimp served with cold beer on the beach, and grilled fish and seafood dishes in the restaurants of the village, including peixe na telha, fish baked in a curved clay roof tile. Macaxeira, sweet cassava, appears baked and mashed with meat and cheese. Churrascarias, barbecue restaurants with grilled meats, are also common, as are pizzerias and esfiha shops serving the savoury pastries brought to Brazil by Arab immigrants.

Tapioca is the snack visitors are told not to miss — a pancake of cassava starch with fillings such as coconut or cheese. Queijo coalho, a heat-resistant cheese similar to halloumi, is often eaten grilled. Crêpe and tapioca places line the pedestrian streets.

Breakfast in the pousadas often includes tapioca, as it does across the Northeast, with tropical fruit and coffee. Fresh juices of graviola and other fruit, coconut water drunk straight from the shell, and caipirinhas made with cachaça are the drinks of the beach.