Projeto Baleia Franca , a conservation group created to protect and study the rare and endangered southern right whale, is based at Praia da Rosa. The declaration in 2000 of Brazil's first whale sanctuary, along 130km of coast from the southern tip of Ilha da Santa Catarina to Imbituba, just south
of Praia da Rosa, is likely to spur a boom in whale-watching tourism to Praia da Rosa and the nearby towns of Imbituba and Garopaba. Imbituba's old whaling station is to become a whale conservation museum.
Places to Stay
Pousada Uluwatu
Pousada Watu Kerere
Pousada Rosa e Canela
Marherita Grill
Praia da Rosa, 150km south of Florianopolis, is the latest hip beach on the Santa Catarina coastline. It's a beautiful, sweeping bay with pumping surf framed by thickly-forested hills, but its real claim to fame is whale watching. The bay is a breeding ground for southern right whales from June to October, when mothers and calves can be seen from the beach. The 'village' here is little more than a few red dirt roads with a handful of (fairly upmarket) pousadas and restaurants.
