Relax at Gite D’Indaiatiba travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises, spa and resorts

There is an unwritten low that the most beautiful places are awkward to get to – the farther away, the more isolated, the better. Gite D’Indaiatiba is just such a place. Situated in rain forest between Sao Paulo and Rio, it is hidden in a dense vegetation at the end of a rocky, precarious dirt track 7 miles (12 km) away from the beachside of Paraty.

The small pousada is a real gem, and definitely off the proverbial beaten track, with the main lodge and five huts dotted across the wild step terrain of the rain forest. A tiny sauna hut overlooks the tropical paradise; the only sounds are the twitter of birds and water cascading down the river. There are no phones or television to be seen in the pink and cream bungalows; their one luxury is an open fire place.

Activities here are few: Read in the hammock on the porch, swim in the freshwater pool, or count the many different species of wild orchid. And then there is the food. The Gite’s mix of Brazilian and French cuisine is so good that the helipad is used by wealthy Brazilian from Sao Paulo to jet across for dinner. Outrageous perhaps, but sitting in the dinner room by candlelight sampling fish in grape sauce and incredible tangy seviche, it is easy to see why.

Location: Paraty, Brazil. Photos by: mauro.godinho