MONGAGUÁ

Mongaguá is a seaside town which lies on the Atlantic Coast approximately 45 minutes by bus from the Port City of Santos.  In the summertime it is a magnet for tourists many of whom own houses there.  It is especially popular with Sorocabanos (citizens of Sorocaba), indeed my wife spent many a childhood holiday here.  The major road BR101 runs through the town.  Apart from the beach it is bordered by the Mata Atlantica.  There are a couple of Native Tribes which live in the forest & who you can visit.  They live in the communities Itaóca and Aguapéu.

 

There is a Hippy Fair here during the summer months.  Unfortunately we went in June, which is considered the winter in Brasil & the place was deserted.  We couldn’t visit the Indian tribes because, after talking with one of the natives, we found out they don’t actually live in the villages, but just go to work there & put shows on for the tourists, but of course there are no tourists in Mongaguá at this time of the year.

 

This is a consideration you must make if you are considering visiting the area.  December & January are the busiest months, and perhaps if I had visited the place then my views would have been slightly different.

 

The other attraction in the area is “Poco Das Antas” (The Pool of the Tapirs) which is a nature park set into the Mata Atlantica.  Again it seems to be seasonal.  It was certainly closed when we made the trek through the jungle to find it.

 

Accommodation is incredibly difficult to find.  As mentioned previously most of the apartments here are holiday homes.  All the major hotels were closed.  We eventually found a horrible little one called “Hotel Gaviota” (Seagulls Hotel).  This hotel was so bad the room had bunk beds, and the windows wouldn’t shut correctly so we had to jam shoes in them to try to keep them closed.

 

Eating out was another issue we had, but we can really recommend Restaurante & Pizzeria Laranja on the seafront.  The meal we had was great quality & the staff were friendly, but there again it was about the only place that was open!

 

SAFETY ISSUES

In the summer months I would imagine you’d have to keep your wits about, just like anywhere else in fact, but if you visit during the period we did you’ll find the place deserted, apart from the handful of locals who hang around waiting for the tourist season to start again.  Generally speaking though you should just take the normal precautions you usually would.

 

GETTING HERE

As previously mentioned the town lies on the BR101 highway.  There are several buses a day from Sorocaba to here, plus of course buses from Sampa and Santos.

 

 

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