Terravista Trancoso

History

Terravista has been in Trancoso since 2008 and grew as a multi-part complex around a single asset: the golf course laid out over the cliffs of Praia do Taípe, in the stretch where, over five centuries ago, the Portuguese first sighted Brazil. The residential side is organised into two condominiums — Terravista Vilas and VillaVista Golf — joined by the resort structure, the theatre, the course and the airport. Unlike a development under a single hotel brand, Terravista has established itself as an ecosystem of highest-end services for those who own a house there and for those staying for the season.

• Concept: living or spending the season in a self-sufficient complex over the cliffs, with golf, beach, theatre and an airstrip within the same perimeter, amid preserved Atlantic Forest.
• Trivia: the Terravista golf course was voted the best in Brazil at the 2022 World Golf Awards. Access to the shore is via a panoramic lift connecting the complex to Praia dos Golfinhos and Praia do Taípe, and via a cable car that runs down to Praia das Tartarugas — two services that practically no other beach address in the country offers.

Architecture and aesthetics

The gesture that defines Terravista is not a façade, it’s the relationship with the cliff. The complex sits up high, over more than 400 hectares of preserved Atlantic Forest, and solves the distance to the sea with access engineering — the panoramic lift and the cable car — rather than occupying the shore. The golf course, designed by Dan Blankenshipi, of Gold Tee Golf International, over 70 hectares, is the central architectural piece: eighteen holes, par 72 and 6,580 yards split across two worlds — the front nine through the Atlantic Forest, the back nine perched on 40-metre cliffs by the sea. The houses of the two condominiums follow Trancoso’s contemporary-rustic grammar, each one distinctive for its view, size and position on the land.

Aesthetics and scarcity

Technical specifications

• Sectors and units: not a tower. It is two residential condominiums — Terravista Vilas and VillaVista Golf — within a complex that also brings together the golf course, the Teatro L’Occitane and the private airport.
• Sizes: the residences run on the order of 500 to 550 m², with six to seven suites in the larger houses. As part of the stock operates as seasonal rentals, the size varies case by case.
• Parking: not declared by official source per unit type.
• Structural highlights: 18-hole golf course, par 72, 6,580 yards over 70 ha, voted the best in Brazil (2022 World Golf Awards), with Hole 14 — a par 3 between 40 m cliffs — as its postcard shot; Teatro L’Occitane, for shows, weddings and events; private airport with a 1,500 m runway and 24-hour operation; panoramic lift and cable car giving access to the beaches; driving range, putting green, chipping green, pro shop, tennis and multi-sports courts.
• Registry and parameters: development on the south coast of Bahia, outside the mesh of urban parameters of the São Paulo survey. Registry jurisdiction not confirmed by source — the field is left blank.

Leisure and facilities

• 18-hole golf course, par 72 — best in Brazil (2022 World Golf Awards)
• Driving range, putting green and chipping green
• Teatro L’Occitane, open-air
• Private airport, with a 1,500 m runway and 24-hour operation
• Panoramic lift giving access to Praia dos Golfinhos and Praia do Taípe
• Cable car giving access to Praia das Tartarugas
• Exclusive beaches (Tartarugas and Taípe)
• Tennis and multi-sports courts
• Concierge, dining and spa
• Pro shop and delicatessen

Location and surroundings

Points of interest · distances in metres

Trancoso: the address

Trancosoi is a district of Porto Seguro, in the far south of Bahia, on the Discovery Coast — the shore where the Portuguese landed in 1500. The old fishing village around the Quadrado has become, in recent decades, one of Brazil’s most sought-after highest-end destinations, with a scene of understated sophistication that sets it apart from the rest of the north-eastern coast. Terravista sits over the cliffs between Praia do Taípe and Praia dos Golfinhos, a few kilometres from the centre of Trancoso. Access is via Porto Seguro or Ilhéus — and the complex’s own airport shortens, for those arriving by air taxi, the distance that is the natural price of the quiet along this stretch of beach.