Salvador, the first capital of Brazil, has maintained the evidence of its African heritage, introduced by the transatlantic slave trade from Africa to Brazil. During the Portuguese colonization, the Bay of All Saints was of fundamental importance as the main export site in the Southern Hemisphere, from which products such as Brazilian sugar and Bolivian silver were shipped to Europe. On this 4-hour tour you’ll learn about the transatlantic slave trade and its legacy by visiting key historical sites in the city of Salvador. The tour begins at the Fort and Barra Lighthouse at the port of arrival for enslaved Africans. Continue to the Tororó dike and see the monument dedicated to the legacy of African religious heritage and the worship of Orixas. The next sites you’ll visit are located in the Cidade Baixa (lower city), where you’ll take in important historic locations marking the presence of Africans in Bahia and Brazil. In the historic downtown area, you’ll visit the Afro Museum of Benin, where the collection highlights the African perspective in the formation of Brazilian identify and culture. You’ll also stop at the Church of the Rosary of the Blacks, the first Black Christian religious brotherhood in the New World. The tour concludes with a visit to the Casa do Benin Museum, one of the main African cultural centers in the state of Bahia.

Salvador is a city that holds that largest black population outside the African continent and hence, it is known as the Black Rome. It has preserved as part of its historical legacy an intense African-Amerindian religiosity.  The city safeguards charms and mysteries, hidden in magnificent places that you will have the opportunity to visit through this itinerary, carefully prepared in order to demystify erroneous notions and impressions disseminated over several centuries about religions of African origin in the world. The route begins in the Afro-Brazilian Museum which, through its collection, narrates the history of enslaved Africans and the transatlantic trade, and the ebb and flow of enslaved peoples and their identities. The artifacts come from several regions of the African continent, allowing you to understand the countless intellectual, artistic, cultural and religious manifestations of these peoples in Brazil. You will visit the Pierre Verger Foundation, the French anthropologist responsible for developing literary and photographic records of the history of slavery, and extensive audio visual documentation. You will get to know a maroon community, places that served as a haven for black people and their African gods during the colonial and post-abolition periods in Brazil. Soon after, you will get to know a Candomblé terreiro from the ewe-fon a nation of daomeniana origin and have the opportunity to consult the sacred oracle (optional activity - extra cost). As you walk through the streets, you will see the urban and cultural development of a slum originated from a maroon community, in the company of guide from the community, who is initiated in these traditions and knowledgeable of these historical processes.

This tour itinerary is tailored so you can contemplate the historic places and night-time ambiance of Salvador. What's more, meet the Bahian people and become acquainted with their heritage. This tour includes dinner in a traditional restaurant that offers typical cuisine - a mixture of remarkable and unforgettable delicacies and flavors. The celebrations and festivities in the streets are unique spectacles, but during this evening experience you will also attend a spectacular show of Bahian culture, which will allow you to gain a better understanding of what Bahia is all about! The music and the sound of drums, will enable you to feel the magic of the sacred dances of the African gods. Witness the legacy of a resistance struggle through Capoeira and Maculele, ancestral dances that symbolize the freedom of black people in Brazil, and the beautiful Roda de Samba, a trademark of Brazilian musicality.

Living in a multicultural city, but historically marked by sharp socioeconomic inequalities, leads to development of strategies to combat social stratification and exclusion. Saramandaia is a low-income, majority black community located within noble neighborhoods in Salvador. Like many other similar communities, it is characterized by abject poverty and insufficient assistance by governmental bodies, and consequently resulting in high rates of violence. In this context, 3 residents have elaborated strategies that seek to reclaim the historical identity of its residents. Despite facing multiple barriers, in 2003 they founded the conscious art project, an initiative that has been transforming the community's reality, by providing assistance to young men and women, aiming at transforming their unfavorable conditions of socioeconomic exclusion. On this tour, you'll visit this important social project that seeks to transform their lives through arts and sports, utilizing graffiti, capoeira, boxing and percussion in organized courses and workshops. This tour promotes interaction and participation between you, the students and members of the community, so that you can experience the transforming power of these initiatives.

Discover the Baroque architecture of Pelourinho, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The buildings date to the 18th century, and are an expression of the grandeur of European colonization. On this 4-hour tour you’ll experience an event known as Tuesday's blessings, meant to ensure the preservation of the musical identity of Bahia, the cradle of Brazilian musicality. After a Catholic Mass is celebrated with elements of African religions in the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of Blacks, the streets of Pelourinho come alive with music and dance. Try a variety of dishes and delicacies of African-European heritage in bars, restaurants and street tents. Experience world-famous Bahian hospitality.

Salvador, the first capital of the country which safeguards its history, not only in the streets, alleys, or on its citizens' faces and attires; this rich history is also preserved in various museums that narrate the trajectory of several peoples and their ancestral traditions, and how those overlapped and intertwined over the centuries. In this tour, you will visit the indigenous and Afro-Brazilian museums, aiming to acquire a better understanding of the legacy of several peoples in the formation of the Brazilian social fabric, as well as comprehend the process of European colonization and expansion. You will see works of art that are reminiscent of the enslavement of indigenous and African peoples, and historical records that represent the resilience their resilience, as well as their cultural and religious traditions. The tour will precede to the museum of sacred art in 19th century convent of Carmelite order, where you will appreciate Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical artwork. This museum collects works of sacred art that reflect the power of the Catholic faith in the new world. The 3rd collection in this itinerary is the Carlos Costa Pinto Museum, named after the private collector of works of art dating from the 16th century to the 19th century. The collection ranges from pieces of gold and silver, paintings, furniture in rosewood, among others. This special historical circuit has been developed to contemplate those customers who desire to appreciate the artwork produced in different historical cycles of colonial Brazil. You will have the privilege of embark upon an experience across time and space.