Have you ever been to the Festival da Pinga in Paraty? This festival, also called Cachaça, Culture and Flavours Festival is the true paradise of pinga (sugar cane liquor) lovers and a partiers must: at the Praça da Matriz square there are lots of stands to for regional cachaça tastings.

And it is not only drinking, the programme includes live music: there are samba, forró, pagode and Paraty traditional music shows. And there are also many typical food stands to go along with the Paraty traditional pingas.

The Pinga Festival has grown a lot over the years. In the beginning mainly Paraty people assisted to the celebration but today it summons tourists from all over Brazil that meet to taste the unique flavours of the Paraty spirits. The kind most favoured by women are the sweet and the banana pingas, while men usually go for the white and aged cachaças.

The Festival da Pinga was created during the eighties aiming to summon everyone that loves Paraty artistic and culinary culture and promote regional gastronomic production such as quitutes (manuê de bacia, biju or paçoca de banana) and their incomparable craft and, of course, the traditionally made pinga that defined centuries the economy of the city. The ACIP- Commercial and Industrial Association of Paraty organised this party became a city tradition and one of the major events in Paraty.

The first distilleries in Brazil date back to 1533, at the then São Vicente Captainship, close to Paraty. And since 1600 this beverage has been produced in our colonial city. With time Paraty became the most important pinga producer area in the country. Back then, Colonial subjects use to ask for a shot of "paraty" to refer to any spirit. Therefore pinga became a synonym of Paraty. The quality of Paraty pinga was so famous that it was quite more expensive than the other pinga of Brazil.

At the 17th century there were over 100 distilleries in Paraty, but today there are only six left: Maré Alta, Coqueiro, Corisco, Itatinga, Murycana e Vamos Nessa.

All of these are pingas of incomparable quality, considered among the best amongst the Brazilian traditional distilleries. These distilleries keep the traditional craft of Colonial Paraty alive.

Nowadays, cachaça is not only the most drunk beverage in no Brasil, it is also the third most drunk spirit worldwide.

In 1983, the town started organising the Festival da Pinga. The purpose of this was rescuing and promoting the most typical local production: Paraty pinga, the only by technique and history, that has been traditionally produced for over 300 years.

Don't end up sleeping your hangover in the beach!

Book your accommodation in Paraty and enjoy the Festival da Pinga!

Now more on the  and at the

Pinga Festival Official Website: www.festivaldapinga.com.br.