A couple of hours, and some 168km, south of Maceió is the lively colonial town of PENEDO. Originally developed to control the illegal exportation of lumber by French merchant ships in the sixteenth century, it was occupied by the Dutch between 1637 and 1645, who built the original fort here. There are several colonial […]

Inland from Maceió, 300km to the west, the most popular destination of all in Alagoas is the Cachoeira de Paulo Afonso, once the largest waterfall on the Rio São Francisco and the third largest in Brazil, but now largely emasculated by a hydroelectric scheme that diverted most of the flow – a spectacular piece […]

The beautifully preserved colonial town of MARECHAL DEODORO lies 22km south of Maceió. Basically it’s no more than a small market town, built on rising ground on the banks of a lagoon, with streets that are either dirt or cobbled. But it’s immaculately kept, with not a single building that looks as if it […]

Airlines TAM, Rua Epaminodas Gracindo 92, Pajucara T82/3327-6400 or at airport T82/3214-4114 or 3214-4112; Varig T82/3214-4100; Transbrasil T82/3221-8286. For information on flights, call the airport on T82/3214-4000.
Banks and exchange Banco do Brasil and HSBC are both on the first block of Rua do Livramento, close to the corner with Rua Boa Vista. You can […]

Maceió is particularly well known for its excellent shrimp and lobster dishes, but caters for just about everyone. Some of the best places to eat and drink in the city are out of the centre, at Mundaú lagoon and Pajuçara beach. From Praça dos Martírios you can take a taxi, or a local bus […]

The main city beach is at Pajuçara, whose curving road and wide mosaic promenade are studded with palm trees. The water is not always the cleanest here and many people hire jangadas (around R$15 an hour) and head 2km out to sea to swim in the natural pools that form at low tide.
The bay […]

Lampião was born Virgulino Ferreira da Silva in 1897 in the Northeastern state of Pernambuco. As Virgulino grew up, he and his family got involved in local feuding and they ended up of the wrong side of the law. Virgulino’s father was killed in a police raid on his home, turning Virgulino, only 25 […]