Araruna is a Brazilian Municipality in the State of Paraíba, being included in the mesoregion of Agreste Paraibano, in the microregion of Curimataú Oriental (formed by Araruna, Cacimba de Dentro, Solânea, Dona Inês, Tacima, Casserengue and Riachão).
Nature, history, events, gastronomy, handicrafts and culture are present practically everywhere in the city.
The city of Araruna is located on top of the mountain range that lends it its name (Serra da Araruna), at an altitude of about 590 metres above sea level.
With 18,879 thousand inhabitants according to the data released by the IBGE Census in 2010, and 140 years the city of Araruna keeps the tranquility of the cities of the interior of Brazil and the hospitality that only the ararunenses have.
Araruna is one of the main municipalities of Agreste Paraibano, due to its polarisation to the other municipalities of Curimataú da Paraíba and Seridó potiguar, making territorial limit with four municipalities of the state of Rio Grande do Norte.
It is 165 kilometres from João Pessoa, capital of the State of Paraíba, about 110 km from Campina Grande and 120 km from Natal, capital of Rio Grande do Norte. It was founded on 10 July 1876.
Araruna is certainly one of the best known municipalities in the state of Paraíba, either for the fame of its cool and mild climate, which is distinguished from the general picture of this region, becoming an island of mild climate in the middle of the semi-arid region, as it is located at an altitude of about 590 metres above sea level, or for its beautiful geographical landscapes, such as the beautiful mountains of Araruna and Confusão, and the State Park of Araruna; State Park of Pedra da Boca, for our traditional events such as the consecrated São João na Serra, Araruna Moto Fest and Festa da padroeira de Nossa Senhora da Conceição.
Videos about Araruna and the Pedra da Boca State Park
Araruna na Paraíba - Guia de Turismo
Parque estadual da Pedra da Boca na Paraíba
Parque Estadual da Pedra da Boca10:03
História de Araruna e o Parque Estadual da Pedra da Boca01:41
Tourist spots of Araruna PB
- Macambira Rock – Pedra da Macambira
- Sanctuary of Our Lady of Conception – Santuário de Nossa Senhora da Conceição
- Cultural Market Professor Arnaldo Rodrigues – Mercado Cultural Professor Arnaldo Rodrigues
- Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima – Santuário de Nossa Senhora de Fátima
- Maquiné Farm – Fazenda Maquiné
- Church of St Anthony – Igreja de Santo Antonio
- State Park of Pedra da Boca – Parque estadual da Pedra da Boca
1. Pedra da Macambira
The colossal Pedra da Macambira is an immense granite block located in the northern portion of the municipality of Araruna, in the curimataú paraibano, in the region of the Calabouço River Valley, rich in caves, water springs, rock scriptures, and being one of the natural borders of Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte. It is located on a private property in the rural area of the same name “Sítio Macambira”.
A colossal Pedra da Macambira é um imenso bloco de granito localizado na porção norte do município de Araruna, no curimataú paraibano, na região do Vale do Rio Calabouço, rica em cavernas, nascentes de água, escrituras rupestres, sendo uma das fronteiras naturais da Paraíba e do Rio Grande do Norte. Está localizado numa propriedade particular na zona rural de mesmo nome “Sítio Macambira”.
The side road is narrow, but the immense size of the rock helps guide the explorers;
At the top of its more than 380 metres of altitude it is possible to observe all the landscapes around it, such as the city centre and neighbouring municipalities. In the vicinity of the rock is located the rural community called São José.
Although it does not have the same hype as Pedra da Boca, Pedra da Macambira does not disappoint, but surprises, in addition to its enormous size, with its fissures, even having one that would resemble a mouth, but with teeth, it is an excellent option for lovers of bucolicism and nature. Both (“Bôca” and Macambira) are part of the natural heritage of Araruna – PB.
The place has a great vocation for extreme and adventure sports, and is gradually being frequented by tourists from different regions who practice sports such as cycling, running, abseiling and climbing, in addition to having many trails, which favours various sports. Its trails are short, but require a minimum physical preparation, having more than 1 (one) kilometre, in steep stretches, with dense vegetation.
Pedra da Macambira is being “discovered” by many people, who, when exploring the region, end up being enchanted by the place, and admire this immense granite colossus.
2. Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Conception
The beginning of the settlement of Araruna occurred after the establishment of a cattle farm and the construction of the old Chapel of Santo Antonio, as payment of a promise made by Mr Feliciano Soares do Nascimento to N. S. da Conceição. S. da Conceição, in addition to the fixing of a wooden cross in front of the chapel, in this way the first street of the settlement was formed, which began in 1845, which gradually grew slowly and spontaneously, until in 1876, the year of emancipation of the municipality of Araruna, then district of Bananeiras – PB, the New Mother Church was built.
The construction of the Mother Church began in 1876, with the command of Father Rocha, with the help of the community, managing to erect this magnificent work of civil construction, but without covering the building, thus remaining unfinished.
In the year 1900, at the turn of the century, Father Joel Esdras Lins Fialho continued the struggle of this construction, from where he hired Master César (doors and frames) and Master Garcia (altar and masonry), who were responsible for the completion of the building; responsible for the completion of the work, which would only materialise in 1907, with Father Francisco Targino in charge of the parish, completing the façade and internal finishes.
It is interesting to note that, however grand the Araruna parish church may be in terms of size and grandeur today, let alone considering the time of its construction, the population of Araruna had an aversion to the vicinity of the parish church, in the direction of building houses near it, where there was a greater desire to keep expanding the areas near the old Church of St Anthony, where commerce and other urban services were located.
According to the older ones, the New Parish Church was isolated and only connected to the rest of the urban settlement by means of paths opened in the woods and the lighting of flaming torches to move the population and then access the masses.
This isolation occurred between 1876 and 1908, and only ended with the construction of the Public Market (now the Cultural Centre), bringing a new look to the municipality’s economy, being a watershed in our history.
During this period of existence, the Matriz de Araruna, has undergone several modifications in old reforms, which, although carried out with good intentionality, ended up irreversibly de-characterising all the aesthetic, architectural and historical value of the original work, among these reforms we find as one of the most striking the one carried out between 1953 and 1955, under the command of the parish priest Monsignor Joaquim de Sousa Simões, where the high altar and the buttresses on the sides (the famous “support giants”), which gave the parish church a unique and original appearance, were removed from the church, in addition to the demolition of the upper floors of the side galleries. These unfortunate renovations, although well intentioned, also resulted in the removal of the original tiled floor and the cedar wood pulpit.
The Matriz de Araruna found itself in a deplorable situation and worthy of pity for many decades, where infinite internal and external problems were seen to deteriorate the beautiful church, where its beauty was covered by the corrosion of time, until in a laudable gesture, in the year 2000, the government of the state of Paraíba, through the then Governor José Targino Maranhão, in the year 2000; in the year 2000, the government of the state of Paraíba, through the then Governor José Targino Maranhão, son of Araruna, and aware of the obstacles of the matrix, decided to save the church from the situation in which it was, and through force majeure inserted in the process of tombamento the Mother Church of N. S. da Conceição, at 03:00 am. S. da Conceição on 3rd May 1999;
A new reform with a view to listing was necessary, and was carried out by the government of Paraíba in 2000, with the Iphaep and the Casa de José Américo Foundation as partners; A better measure could not have been taken, and in this way the Araruna parish church was saved from destruction, which in 2001, through the then Bishop of the Diocese of Guarabira – PB, Dom Antonio Muniz, was elevated to Sanctuary.
In this reform carried out in 2000, the entire physical structure of the matrix was re-evaluated and revitalised, erased details gained life, and through this action we still see today the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Conception beautiful, internally or externally. da Conceição beautiful, internally or externally, but even this action caused impacts, with the intention of creating a sacristy, was broken all altar-mór once again, losing once again a portion of the history of the temple, in its place was placed a new and imperious wooden high altar, worthy of a grand church, but that does not get to be as beautiful as the old altars-mór destroyed.
With the listing, the parish priests were obviously unable to carry out any interventions that might alter what remains of the older features of the building.
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Conception is also gaining survival in the smallest details to be observed minutely inside the church, in addition to the good will of the same to watch over and care for the heritage of the people of God.
3. Professor Arnaldo Rodrigues Cultural Market
The current Cultural Market Professor Arnaldo Rodrigues, is totally linked to the history of the urban evolution of Araruna, regarding its development, because it was this building that contributed to the progress of the city in the first half of the twentieth century. This public place was built with the designation of being the Public Market of the city, and it was this purpose that it exercised for many decades after its construction.
In the early years of the twentieth century, the first public market of Araruna was built, idealised by the Targino family, a politically influential group in the municipality, led by the brothers Pedro Targino Pereira da Costa (Major Pedro Targino) and Targino Pereira da Costa (Colonel Gino), but for this project to really get off the ground, the determination of the mixed lawyer and engineer José Amâncio Ramalho was of crucial importance, and despite the participation of the Targino in the construction of the First Market, it was by the hands of Amâncio that the construction took place.
For Amâncio, Araruna had to get out of the state of inertia in which it found itself, and seek new breath to grow, and that was really what happened, the primitive urban landscape, leaving its poorly arranged streets and gradually giving way to an organised landscape with an alignment of designed streets, in addition to leaving the economic doldrums in which the then village of Araruna was.
Thus, the mayor of the time, Sebastião Soares Cabral (1907/1909), influenced by the Targino political group, accepted the challenge of building this building, but the city hall only had 8 of the 30 contos de réis necessary for the work, so Amâncio funded the other 22 contos de réis missing, in exchange for 10 years of renting the building.
I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to emphasise the historical importance of José Amâncio Ramalho, builder of the old market in Araruna, because it was with this good work that the city progressed greatly, yet there is not even a public tribute in his name, naming a street or other type of remembrance.
The same would be very fair, so that future generations know of its existence and importance.
A he joy for the construction of the Old Market, which began in 1908, brought hope to the entire population of Araruna, as Humberto Fonseca de Lucena tells us:
It is said in Araruna that all the people, in great excitement, carried stones for the construction of the market. This enthusiasm helped to shorten the work, which took up the whole of 1908 and lasted almost the whole of the following year, when the work was completed with the arrival of the iron gates from Europe. Plastering and painting remained to be done. In fact, there was little left. (LUCENA, 1996, p.67).
The market, then built, was inaugurated on 7 September 1909, date that appears on its coat of arms at the top of its front facade. Thus, the urbanisation of the city took place, commerce moved to the surroundings of the market, the free market joined it, in addition to the shaping of the city, with the construction of new houses around it, a landmark for the municipality.
And so it was for long 59 years, the building being used as a public market, until it was deactivated in 1966 by Mayor Targino Pereira da Costa Neto, who built a new public market for the city, with the opening of Benedito Fialho Avenue, which is still used today.
With this, the “Old Market” lost its function, and was without destination for a long time, having much of the trade around it, migrated gradually, to the new market, the municipal administration at the time, used it as a garage for a few occasions, and intended to transform it into the headquarters of the city hall of Araruna, but that was not what happened.
In the year 2000, the “Old Market” that served Araruna so well, was restored, being saved from the state of advanced degradation and would perform a new function, gained a new title conceived by a bill, by the then councilman Vital da Costa Araújo, being called by Mayor Benjamin Maranhão Neto “Cultural and Social Centre Professor Arnaldo Rodrigues”, a nomenclature that reveres a former teacher of the municipality.
The Old Market of Araruna, is undoubtedly the building that contributed most to the urban progress of the city, and where many of the episodes of the daily life of our society took place, its importance is great, being one of the best known postcards of the city, place that makes us remember many reminiscences.
4. Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima
The Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Araruna was inaugurated on 13 May 2010. The Sanctuary was built in the Pedra da Boca Ecological State Park, idealised by Governor José Maranhão. On the site was also designed the Memorial of Pedra do Letreiro, with its rock inscriptions.
In addition to a large open space with grandstands, this great work has facilities for craft shops and religious articles.
The archaeological site is much visited by researchers from all over the world.
The importance of the shrine for the social and economic life of the region and Paraíba is great, because it stimulates religious tourism.
Some tourism agencies are already scheduling visits to the Sanctuary and the region, to participate in the monthly mass and pilgrimage every 13th, and on the patron saint’s feast day on 13 May, when the municipality of Araruna receives about 10,000 faithful.
5. Maquiné Farm
A few kilometres (2km) from the city of Araruna, we find a bucolic place, with beautiful natural landscapes and a surprising cultural richness, we refer to Fazenda Maquiné, a true treasure of historical wealth of the municipality.
The Maquiné Farm is located where there was once a mill of the same name “Engenho Maquiné”, owned by the famous Targino Pereira da Costa, patriarch of the Targino Family, who died on 30 August 1887, a member of the first Chamber of Aldermen.
Maquiné represents a beautiful historical architectural ensemble consisting of the big house, chapel, warehouse, slave quarters and residents’ house, this chapel being the oldest building on the farm, inherited by Dona Jesuína Paula d’Assunpção, and her son Francisco Targino da Costa, who had been ordained a priest, was responsible for the construction of the chapel in 1897, which has as patron saints Nossa Senhora do Bom Socorro and São Francisco de Assis. It should be noted that this priest, popularly known as Father Targino, was vicar of the parish of Araruna between 1906 and 1919.
6. Igreja de Santo Antonio
The old Chapel of Our Lady of the Conception is a landmark in the foundation of Araruna, and in itself represents a heritage of inestimable historical and aesthetic value, with its 19th-century rural religious baroque architectural style.
The old Mother Church of Our Lady of the Conception, now the Church of Saint Anthony, was the initial landmark of the urbanisation of the city of Araruna.
It was deposited in it the faith of a man, who around 1845, had made a promise to Immaculate Conception, patron saint of the city, this man was Mr Feliciano Soares do Nascimento, coming from Jacu dos Orfãos in Rio Grande do Norte, made a promise to the saint, of which if grace was granted would erect a chapel in his honour at the top of the Serra de Araruna, a difficult task due to the isolation of the place at the time.
This building seems to have been the first chapel, which over the years was enlarged and improved until it acquired the form it has today.
It was certainly the initial landmark of the urbanisation of the city, because the first houses were built around it, Araruna at this time had no municipal master plan, the houses did not follow alignment rules, they only obeyed the impositions of the topography of the place.
Around the then Matriz da Conceição, the fairs of the municipality were held, the grandeur of the Church of Santo Antonio was so strong, that not even the construction of the new Matriz was able to take away the preference of the company of the people of Araruna, people insisted on building their houses in a north / south direction, In the direction of the current Rua Perilo de Oliveira, where the cemetery is located and towards the exit to Cacimba de Dentro, a fact that left the new matrix isolated, with the population having to ascend torches and cut bushes to reach the new church, which was inaugurated in the year of the political emancipation of Araruna (1876).
This isolation ended after the construction of the Public Market, now the Cultural Centre of Araruna.
The most remote urban landscape of Araruna was the Church next to the cruise, which had on each side two rows of houses (which are still found today), leaving in the middle a square, the famous “Largo da Igrejinha”, which made up the first street of the village, in place of this cruise in 1966, a playground was built, and later in the 90s a municipal school, which decharacterised once and for all the most defining view of the human geography of Araruna. This cruise was recovered and is currently placed next to the matrix of Our Lady of Conception in front of the João Pessoa Square.
7. Pedra da Boca State Park
The rocky complex of the Pedra da Boca State Park is located in the municipality of Araruna, in the micro-region of Curimataú Oriental.
The Pedra da Boca State Park is an ecological and environmental reserve that presents one of the most important geological heritage of the state of Paraíba and Brazil, having an area of about 160 hectares in the rural area of Araruna, where the rural village of Água Fria is also located, being a place that enchants all who visit it for its most diverse beauties.
The Pedra da Boca Park was created in 2000 by the then governor of Paraíba, Mr José Targino Maranhão, and is located in a geographical accident of inestimable natural and geological value, embedded between the foothills of the Serra da Confusão and the Serra de Araruna, on the border of the states of Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte, Although separated by the Calabouço River, they are closely linked, where they contemplate together their pleasant landscapes, especially the famous Pedra da Boca, which stands out against other rocky outcrops, as the great attraction of the ecological reserve from which it takes its name.
Tourist attractions
- Mouth Rock – Pedra da Boca
- Skull Rock – Pedra da Caveira
- RN Rock – Pedra do RN
- Practice of abseiling – Prática de rapel
The tourist attractions of the park attract thousands of national and international tourists every year, from where they have the option of tourism practices of the most varied modalities, according to the most varied tastes, such as contemplation, ecological, adventure, religious tourism, in addition to being a field of scientific academic study by geographers, historians, archaeologists from all over Brazil.
In addition to presenting magnificent rocky outcrops such as Pedra da Boca, Pedra da Caveira (Pedra do Anselmo), Pedra do RN, Pedra do Carneiro and Pedra do Letreiro, to name a few, the Park also presents a very valuable collection of rock inscriptions, which are the traces of the footsteps of the indigenous people who inhabited these mountainous regions of Araruna and surrounding Potiguar, located in Pedra do Letreiro, where the Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora de Fátima is also located, which attracts many people to its traditional masses every thirteenth of each month and especially in the month of May where thousands of people visit the park and come to deposit their faith.
The Pedra da Boca State Park presents fabulous natural landscapes that enchant those who contemplate it, its economic tourist potential is giant, from Araruna and the state of Paraíba, being a viable place for the development of the local population, combining economic development and the preservation of the environment, in this wonder that sprouted in the soil of the municipality of Araruna.
Tourism Guide of Araruna and Pedra da Boca State Park in Paraíba.
