Barra de Mamanguape & Manatee Project
Barra de Mamanguape / Projeto Peixe-Boi
A mangrove estuary reserve on the north coast with a manatee conservation center, where visitors can take boat trips to spot wild manatees at the estuary.
The Mamanguape River mouth lies in the city of Rio Tinto. It is one of the best-preserved mangrove estuaries in northeastern Brazil and is a protected environmental area. The Brazilian Manatee Conservation Project (Projeto Peixe-Boi, ICMBio) runs a rescue and release base here. The visitor center explains the conservation of West Indian manatees, and you may have a chance to see manatees in captivity. Local communities offer small-boat trips through the mangroves to the sandbars at the river mouth, where you may be lucky enough to see wild manatees. It is about 70 kilometers from João Pessoa, roughly 1.5 hours by car. The final stretch is a dirt road. You can combine it with Baía da Traição, a beach on Potiguara Indigenous land, for a day trip.
Opening hours
Visitor center hours per ICMBio announcements
Nearby sights
- Fortress of Santa Catarina
- Areia Vermelha Marine State Park
- Jacaré Beach Sunset
- Hotel Globo
- Arruda Câmara Zoobotanical Park (Bica)
- Casa da Pólvora
- Centro Cultural São Francisco
- Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Snows