The Floded Streets of Paraty

Kept as a historical heritage, the Centre of Paraty is definitively a relic. The area was given by the imperial authorities in colonial times in order to develop the village. Then the military engineers planned the streets, squares, churches and residential areas which were organized in perfect harmony. The architecture is very simple, made of two storey houses along side streets. The higher classes lived at the nearby haciendas where the great landowners lived in impressive manor houses.
Whale oil lamps provided the street lighting, and the main streets have a channel in the middle through which the rain water would drain and the sea water would flood and clean out the Historic Centre.

A clever bend in the cobbled streets engineered by the Portuguese makes Paraty home to a unique phenomenon. Once a month when the Moon is full the tide rises from its normal levels, and pours into the Historic Center through openings in the seawalls that separate the city from the harbor. The streets are only flooded for a short time, until the tide recedes. The water is usually only six to ten inches deep and merchants near the seawall put out small bridges to span the flooded streets for the benefit of pedestrians. The reflection of the historic architecture and lights from the old oil lamps makes a wonderful sight!