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Trancoso is a village located on the Atlantic coast of Brazil , in Porto Seguro municipality, capital of the Discovery Coast.
Pedro Alvares Cabral, a Portuguese explorer, landed on the Discovery coast on the 21st of April 1500.
This is where Brazil was born. 83 years later Trancoso (Saint John Baptist of the Indians) was founded by Jesuit priests.
 Profiting from an exceptional landscape they built Trancoso's unique beauty: an aerial architecture above the ocean, built around a square (called the “Quadrado”) with a white church in the center and colourful little houses in the periphery. This typical Jesuit form of settlement found the perfect match, settling on a cliff surrounding the Atlantic ocean and the luxurious vegetation of the coast.
 The beaches of Trancoso and Porto Seguro are famous in Brazil. The sea side is made of kilometers of transparent waters, crossed by rivers and mangroves, Atlantic forest, cliffs in all textures of colors and coral reefs which made this place a safety harbour with warm and appealing waters.
 The privileged geography makes Porto Seguro a real natural outdoor museum. Since 1973 it WAS declared a Natural National Patrimony by IPHAN (the National Institute of Arts and Historic Patrimony) and recognized by UNESCO as a Natural Patrimony of Humanity in 2000, exactly five hundreds years after its discovery.
It offers a warm and sunny destination for visitors from Brazil and abroad. The temperatures in Bahia are warm and semitropical with an average of 75°F (25°C), with more humidity and regular rainfalls than the rest of northern Brazil making the climate pleasant at all times of the year. Porto Seguro and the Discovery Coast benefit from the ocean influence with beautiful and luxurious flora.
In recent years the Discovery Coast has seen its tourism developed by the hotel industry, including the French Club Mediterranée and Terra Vista, the biggest Golf of South America. However Trancoso continues to behold its rustic charm with its pristine and stone free beaches, its exuberant nature and the friendliness of its locals.
 Language and ethnic mixture create an appealing cultural diversity where natives live in harmony with the new residents. The result of this mixture finds expression in a variety of gastronomy and life styles. Quadrado Square is the main meeting point in the city. It also hosts the headquarters of The Discovery Square Foundation (Fundação Quadrilástero do Descobrimento).
While becoming a party spot for VIPs in the Brazilian summer (December to February) Trancoso is quiet and suited for eco-tourism most of the year.
Services range from modest and economical to the most luxurious and sophisticated accommodation.
Espelho Beach which has been elected as the third most beautiful beach in Brazil, was so named after the transparency of its waters, which reflect the surrounding landscape like a mirror.
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