Hiking to Honey Island (Ilha do Mel) Trails

A sweet destination of beautiful beaches, beautiful landscapes, lots of tranquility and nature!

  • Oficial Name: não há.
  • Extension: 7,4 km
  • Duration: 02:15min
  • Elevation Gain/Loss: 337 m
  • Difficulty: 02 (easy)

The walk is easy now until the Morro do Meio, where you must climb by round stones. You have to be very careful in this section, because the stones have many “cracas”, which are very sharp calcified crustaceans (the photo below is from that site). When we were passing a girl in the opposite direction she was wearing a flip-flop, slipped and cut her foot. Then there is an alert: always littoral trail with suitable footwear and that it fixes well in the foot!

Finished the section of Morro do Meio (82 meters, but the trail does not reach the top), the beach that follows is Praia Grande (Big Beach), where there is an ecoresort and is one of the most frequented of the Island.

The Ponta do Joaquim is a rocky hill that closes the beach and the trail goes now from the side of the ecoresort, inside the forest, passing by the village of Farol until to the Lighthouse, the main island. If you want to know Praia de Fora, which is next to the lighthouse, there is a derivation of the trail that follows there, just follow the signs.

Until the Lighthouse have already gone 4 km traveled in 1: 50min to appreciate all the beauty of the island. And now it’s time to climb the 150 steps that lead to the Lighthouse. The view is amazing and you can see almost the whole island, its beaches and geographic cutouts. The internal visitation to the lighthouse is not allowed.

The Praia do Farol (Farol Beach), at the foot of the hill that houses it, is beautiful, so much so that it served as a location for the Brazilian film “O Ostra e o Vento”, with two famous actors: Leandra Leal and Lima Duarte. The lighthouse dominates the scene in several scenes!

A little bit of History…

D. Pedro II thinking about modernizing the Brazilian commercial navigation requested the construction of the Lighthouse of Shells in 1870.

The works were carried out by an English company and the materials were imported from Scotland, which at the time had the most advanced technology in the sector. The Lighthouse was inaugurated on April 1 (not a lie!) Of 1872. It is on top of the Morro das Conchas (about 80 meters) and can be seen from almost every point of Ilha do Mel.

Passing through the lighthouse and its beach, we arrive at the Istmo Beach (or Passa-Passa as the locals call it), as the name says, it is a very narrow stretch (30 meters) that almost totally divides the island in two. Here are anchored many fishermen’s boats, the residents and also the tourists who own boats. Need a taxi? This is where you will find the nautical taxis. Just negotiate the price and go!

From here there are two trail options to the next point of interest, the historic Fortress: by the beach and the forest. If the day is pleasant, the beach will have a beautiful look! But on warm days, the 6 km course can be quite exhausting with the sun set, so go for the woods. We have already done the trail on two occasions and each time by a path.

After a 6 km route, you reach the Fortress of Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres, dating from the 18th century. The fort is open to visitation is an important historical heritage site, which has been restored and is relatively well preserved. It houses some military cannons of the time and exhibits telling the history of the place. Admission is free.

A little bit of History…

The Fortress of Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres is the only military monument of the 18th century of Paraná. Its construction was completed on April 23, 1769 and the purpose was to protect Paranaguá Bay, an important maritime commercial warehouse.

The Fortress is at the top of Morro da Baleia and there is a short but steep trail to reach the top of the 73 meters of altitude. There is the so-called “Labyrinth of Cannons”, with anti-aircraft defense equipment in well-structured trenches. There is also a belvedere to have a panoramic view of Praia da Fortaleza and the northern area of island. On clear days it is possible to see Ilha das Peças and Ilha de Superagui as well.

If you want to continue the long walk, from the other side of Fortaleza (photo below) you can walk at low tide to Ponta Oeste. It is a deserted beach with preserved nature.

We chose to return to Vila Nova Brasília and from there by boat (photo below) to Encantadas. Anyone who is willing to return to Encantadas can be on the same trail, passing all the beaches again. We still get to enjoy another sunset and of course take a sea bath!

The boats to Honey Island leave from Paranaguá or Pontal do Paraná from Pontal do Sul beach. From Paranaguá the route is longer and longer (1h: 30min), however there are more buses in the city to capital Curitiba, or other city. From Pontal do Sul the journey takes 30 minutes.

It is important to see which is the closest village of your lodging, thus avoiding double displacement, since the boats arrive either in Encantadas, or in Nova Brasília. For these two villages there is a regular boat line during the day that leaves hourly.

For those who are in larger groups, there is also the option of the nautical taxis, who charge the route and it is possible to negotiate the trip to other points of the island as well. In Pontal do Sul, near the maritime station, several companies are offering this service.  In Pontal do Sul there are also several parking lots for those who go by car and the Bus Station is very close to the place of departure of the boats.


Useful information

  • In Honey Island there is no public lighting, so it is important to bring a lantern to move at night. The whole island is pretty safe.
  • There are good restaurants and bars, as well as well stocked markets.
  • As an environmental protection area, the visitation to island is restricted to a capacity of 5,000 visitors. Even in high season it is difficult to get to the number, but in the Christmas and New Year season you need to have more attention.

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