Fortaleza is the fifth-largest city in Brazil and the capital of Ceará state — a northeastern coastal city where the equatorial heat produces almost constant sunshine (360 sunny days/year), the trade winds make the beaches perfect for kitesurfing and buggy rides, and the culture is a distinctive blend of forró music (the accordion-driven dance music of the Northeast), the caju (cashew) economy, and the fresh seafood of the Atlantic coast. The waterfront Beira Mar avenue is the social heart of the city, and the dunes of Jericoacoara (250km west) are one of the most dramatic beach landscapes in South America.
The Beira Mar (Seafront Avenue) is the social axis of Fortaleza — 5 km of promenade along the Atlantic coast, with the early morning beach walkers, cyclists and the famous weekly handicrafts market. Praia de Iracema (to the west) is the historic beach named after José de Alencar's 1865 novel (the most famous Brazilian indigenous-themed novel).
Fortaleza's Central Market (Mercado Central, 4-story building in the Centro) is the finest traditional market in Ceará — handicrafts (the rendas — lacework of Ceará, one of Brazil's finest craft traditions), hammocks (redes — Fortaleza exports 90% of Brazil's hammocks), cachaça (sugar cane spirit), caju products (cashew juice, cashew jam, cashew wine) and the street-level food court.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideFortaleza is famous for its casquinha de caranguejo (shredded seasoned crab meat served in the shell) and sirizinho (small crab in sauce). At any restaurant near the fish market or on the Beira Mar — ordered by the dozen with cold beer. Also try caldeirada (fish and seafood stew in coconut milk, the signature Ceará dish).
The Centro Dragão do Mar (1999) is Fortaleza's cultural complex — a bold postmodern complex by architect Delberg Ponce de Leon with an underground amphitheater, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Ceará, the Jose de Alencar Cultural Centre and the planetarium. The design bridges the old Praia de Iracema bohemian district and the city centre.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideForró (the accordion, triangle and zabumba drum music of Northeast Brazil) is Fortaleza's defining cultural expression — the Clube do Vaqueiro on weekends and the famous Pirata bar (Thursday nights, free entry before 23:00) are the finest forró dance experiences in Brazil. Everyone dances with strangers; everyone knows the steps.
The Iracema district at night (bars on Rua dos Tabajaras) — caipirinhas (lime, sugar and cachaça on crushed ice) and the sound of forró from every bar. The most Brazilian late night in the Northeast.
Canoa Quebrada (90 km east of Fortaleza on the CE-040 coastal road) is a dramatic red sandstone cliff with a beach town on top — the cliffs are 40m high and rust-red, the beach below is white and the dune landscape stretches east for kilometres. It became a hippie enclave in the 1970s and retains a laid-back character.
The most iconic image of Canoa Quebrada is the star-and-moon symbol carved into the red sandstone cliff at the edge of the town — visible from the beach below. The cliff walk above the beach gives the panoramic view of the dune landscape and Atlantic. Buggy rides on the dunes are available below.
The beach buggy (voadeira — open frame 4WD buggy with roll bars) is the defining Ceará transport — drivers take tourists through the dune system at speed, over the crests, stopping at lagoons (lagoas) for swimming. The dune buggy here and at Genipabu are the best buggy experiences in Brazil.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideCanoa Quebrada (and all the Ceará coast) is famous for its lagosta (spiny lobster) — grilled whole on charcoal or prepared in butter and garlic sauce, served with rice and farofa (seasoned manioc flour). The freshest lobster in Brazil, at any of the beach restaurants.
Return along the coastal road — the CE-040 has views of the clifftop villages and fishing communities all the way back to Fortaleza.
Ceará is the world's largest cashew producer — caju is eaten in every form: fresh cashew fruit (the juice, sweeter than the nut, is a revelation), dried cashew, cashew wine and the caju amêndoa (the nut itself, always eaten locally). At Coco Bambu (the finest seafood restaurant in Fortaleza) or at a forró restaurant for the dinner-and-dance combo.
Jericoacoara ("Jeri") is 280 km west of Fortaleza — the last 50 km on dune tracks requiring 4WD. The village has no cars, no paved roads and no bright lights. It is consistently rated one of the most beautiful beach destinations in South America. The windsurfing and kitesurfing conditions (300+ days of strong trade winds) are world-famous. Book a transfer the day before.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideJeri's most famous landmarks: the Sunset Dune (Duna do Pôr do Sol) — where hundreds of people climb the 30m dune each evening to watch the sun set over the Atlantic; the Pedra Furada (a natural rock arch in the sea, 20 min walk from the village); and the freshwater lagoons (Lagoa Paraíso and Lagoa Azul) behind the village, where you lie in a hammock in turquoise water.
The Sunset Dune (Duna do Pôr do Sol) at Jericoacoara is one of the great sunset experiences in South America — the silhouettes of palm trees, the Atlantic horizon, and the crowd of hundreds gathering at the dune crest to watch and cheer the sunset together. If you only do one thing in Ceará, this is it.
Dinner in Jericoacoara before the long drive back: fresh lobster or shrimp grilled on charcoal at a beach restaurant, with rice, salad and cold Brahma. The most atmospheric beach dinner in Brazil.
The late-night 4WD track and highway return — arriving in Fortaleza near midnight. Long but worth it for Jericoacoara.
A final caipirinha on the Beira Mar at 2am after the Jeri return — the promenade still has vendors and stragglers. The most Fortaleza ending possible.