"Ilheus" a Ilhéus Travel Page by NedHopkins

My main reason for visiting Ilheus was to immerse myself in the world of 'Gabriela, Cravo e Canela' (Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon), one of Jorge Amado's finest novels.

Amado was born on a cocoa plantation near the city though his family moved to Salvador when he was a young boy.

Buildings and places that appear in the novel are everywhere; and every kind of enterprise -- from a restaurant to an urban bus line -- is named for Gabriela.

Though I visited Ilheus in the rainy season, it rained in the daytime only once during my five-day stay. There was light precipitation late each night.

The picture was taken from my 1st floor (2nd storey) room in the Ilheus Praia Hotel -- on that one rainy day.

One of the first churches built in Brazil and still standing, Igreja Sao Jorge was begun in 1534. Its clean, plain lines contrast with the high baroque and rococco style of most colonial-era structures.

Sao Jorge is the only significant building in Ilheus dating to the early period of Portuguese rule. Today it houses a small museum with interesting artefacts, most from the 16th and 17th centuries.