Sao Luis do Paraitinga

São Luís do Paraitinga stands beside the Paraitinga River among the forested hills of the Serra do Mar. Drovers travelling from Taubaté toward the port of Paraty stopped on the riverbank before a settlement was formally laid out in 1769. The place took its name from the river and the governor who ordered its foundation. Mining, sugar mills and dairy farming later supported the community.