This guide is for you if the red cliffs of Canoa Quebrada are on your list and you are staying in Fortaleza. It is a long day for one place, so the decisions are about the road: whether the drive is worth it for your group, how to use the four hours in the village, and whether to stay the night instead.
Is the drive worth it?
Canoa Quebrada is 163 kilometres from Fortaleza, in the municipality of Aracati, about 12 kilometres from the town centre. Each way takes two and a half to three hours on the CE-040, through Aquiraz, Cascavel and Beberibe and over the Jaguaribe river. That is more than five hours in the car across a ten-hour day.
What you get for it is different from the beaches near the city. The village sits on top of red cliffs about 30 metres above the sea, and the beach below them runs for roughly 15 kilometres. If you want one day of real coastline, and the people in your car do not mind the road, it is worth it. If you want cliffs with less driving, Morro Branco is about half the distance on the same road.
When to go
The main rains in Ceará fall between February and May. Outside those months you can expect long dry spells, which is what you want for a day spent on a cliff top and an open beach.
The sun sets at around half past five, and this tour leaves the village at 14:15, so you will not see the sunset from the dune that is named for it. If that matters to you, stay the night. We can drop you in Canoa Quebrada and collect you another day; message us for a price.
What the moon and star mean
The crescent moon and star cut into the cliff are the symbol of Canoa Quebrada, and they are newer than they look. An architecture student, Carlos Limaverde, known as Kako, carved them in 1977. He based the design on rings that a local craftsman, Chico Eliziário, made from turtle shell, and chose a stretch of cliff that already had the outline of a moon.
Waves, wind and rain wear the cliff away, so the symbol has been recut many times. The local buggy drivers' association has paid for at least one of the restorations. It belongs to the years when Canoa stopped being only a fishing village: French filmmakers found it in the 1960s, and hippies followed in the 1970s.
There is an older story too. Francisco José do Nascimento, the jangadeiro known as the Dragão do Mar one of the leaders of the 1881 strikes against carrying enslaved people out of Fortaleza's port, was born here in 1839. If you are also doing the Fortaleza city tour, the arts centre named after him makes more sense after this day.
How to use the four hours
You reach the cliff top at about 10:00. The first hour is for the edge of the village and the symbol. Then you take the cliff path down to the beach, where fishing boats rest on the sand, and have most of two hours to swim. Lunch is on the Broadway, the village's main street, where cars are not allowed. You start back at 14:15.
The alternative to the beach hour is a buggy. Local drivers, accredited by the Aracati town council, run rides of about an hour and a half over the dunes for up to four people, paid to them directly. A typical ride stops at the symbol, the sunset dune, a dune you slide down on a board and a lagoon where you can swim. Tell your driver in the morning if you want one, and the day is arranged around it.
Two things the car makes possible. On the way back you can stop briefly at Morro Branco, though it makes a long day longer. And if you have an interest in old buildings, Aracati itself has a historic centre listed as national heritage in 2000, with 275 protected properties: tiled townhouses, the main church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário and the Museu Jaguaribano on the old Rua Grande. Ask your driver whether there is time for a look as you pass; it comes out of your hours at the beach.
On your own, or with a driver
A bus company runs a daily service from Fortaleza to Canoa Quebrada, taking between three and a quarter and four hours. As a return trip in one day it leaves very little time in the village. It makes more sense if you stay a night or two.
A private day gives you a door-to-door run, the chance to change the order once you are there, and a car that leaves when you are ready. The price depends on the size of your group; see it on the tour page. Buggy rides, lunch and drinks are paid on the day.
Cliff safety
The cliffs at Canoa Quebrada are on Ceará's official list of cliffs at risk of collapse, part of a state contingency plan that says falls are hard to predict. The village and the coast around it also sit inside a state environmental protection area. Keep back from the edge at the top, follow any warning signs, and do not linger directly under the cliff face on the beach.
What to bring
- Swimwear and a towel for the beach below the cliffs.
- Sun cream, a hat and sunglasses.
- Shoes you can walk in on the cliff path, rather than flip-flops.
- Local cash for the buggy, lunch and small purchases in the village.
- Something to do in the car for the long drive.
Who should think twice
With more than five hours in the car, this is not an ideal day for very small children, or for anyone who finds long drives hard. For them, Morro Branco and Praia das Fontes gives coloured cliffs in a shorter day. Our guide to day trips from Fortaleza sets all five side by side.
Questions people ask
Can we combine it with Morro Branco properly?
A brief stop on the way back, yes, though it makes a long day longer. To see it properly, book our Morro Branco tour as its own day.
What if there are more than 16 of us?
Two vehicles travel together on one booking. Message us through the contact page and we will price it.
Can we cancel?
Yes. Cancel up to 24 hours before pick-up and you are refunded in full. See our cancellation page.
Booking
Pick a dry day, decide between the beach and a buggy, and think about whether a night in the village would serve you better than the drive back. The timings and what is included are on the Canoa Quebrada private day trip page, where you choose the size of your group and book.
