Ilhéus

In Brazil, Ilhéus (literally meaning "islanders") is synonymous with cocoa and Jorge Amado, one of Brazil's best-known 20th-century writers. Amado spent his childhood here, and the house he lived in is now a cultural center. Many of his world-famous novels are set in places in and around Ilhéus. Catedral de São Sebastião (San Sebastian Cathedral) is the heart of the central area—a plaza surrounded by colonial-period buildings akin to those in Pelourinho.

Ilhéus has many beaches and a small harbor at the mouth of the Rio Cachoeira. The palm-tree-covered beaches to the south of the city are the most scenic; you can get a good view of them from hills that surround the city, such as Morro de Pernambuco (Mount Pernambuco). Ilhéus experienced fast development earlier in the 20th century with the export of cacau (cocoa) from plantations nearby. The spread of a bacterial disease in the 1980s almost wiped out the plantations; in recent times improved agricultural techniques and higher cocoa market prices are leading the way to economic resurgence in the region, tourism being another of the main pillars. Throngs of tourists descend during Carnival—the street festivities last just as long as and are as lively as in Salvador.