Even the city’s name has the connotation of revelry — minus a vowel, but it’s actually pronounced as Par-a-CHEE. Actually the Guaianás people who once lived where the city now stands called the entire area “Paraty” which in the Tupi language “Paraty” means “river of fish”. Even today the Brazilian Mullet (Mugil Brasiliensis) still come back to spawn in the rivers that spill into the Bay of Paraty.

It was one of most important ports of Brazil. After the discovery of the world's richest gold mines in 1696 in the mountains of Minas Gerais, Paraty became an export port for gold to Rio de Janeiro and from there on to Portugal. The ensuing gold rush led to the construction of the "Caminho do Ouro" or "Gold Trail", a 1200 kilometer road, paved in steep areas with large stones, which connected Paraty to Diamantina via Ouro Preto and Tiradentes. These trails are now popular with visitors for hiking.

The port was also a major exporter of  cachaça — the most popular and exclusively produced distilled alcoholic beverage in Brazil with1.3 billion liters manufactured each year. In fact a century ago cachaça was known as parati. Dozens of excellent brands are available today in Paraty.  Cachaça is said to differ from rum in that it’s made from sugarcane juice while rum is made from either molasses or sugarcane juice then aged in oak barrels. Cachaça has an alcohol strength between 38% and 48% by volume.

GETTING THERE:

SEA: Arrive by sea by way of a sailboat or cruise ship from Rio de Janeiro, Angra dos Reis and Ilha Grande.

ROAD: Paraty is connected by road to Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo (via road BR-101). Air-conditioned buses leave to go back and forth from Rio to Paraty and Paraty to Rio. Buses to and from Rio depart about nine times a day for R$49.00 The trip takes about four hours. The trip to and from São Paulo takes about six hours and costs about R$37.00. From São Paulo try Reunidas Paulista , from Rio de Janeiro; Costa Verde Transportes

GETTING AROUND

The historic town is compact and can be covered on foot; cars, save for taxis picking up or dropping passengers, are not allowed into the historic city center.

Buses to the beautiful village and beaches at Trindade and outlying beaches leave form the Bus Station. Buy tickets onboard approximately R$3 to Trindade.

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Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. It is now technically a part of Paraty, 30 kilometers to the south. It has some of the best beaches in Brazils, and is also surrounded by luxuriant Mata Atlantica rainforest"
wikitravel.org/en/Angra_dos_Reis  A beautiful mirage of 365 islands, Angra dos Reis is a popular getaway for Rio residents, since there are plenty of nice beaches around.
If you end up in the town of Angra dos Reis itself, it is quite likely that you are on your way to the popular island Ilha Grande, since Angra is the main port to the island. The cheapest way to get to Ilha Grande is the ferries operated by BARCAS S/A. They take 90 minutes and normally depart twice a day. Note that the schedule is changed frequently. Prices are significantly lower on Monday through Thursday than on Fridays, weekends and holidays.