Itacaré is a town located in the cocoa zone of the state of Bahia, south of Salvador, 70 km north of Ilhéus where river Rio de Contas river, which comes from the Chapada Diamantina, meets the Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of approximately 8,000. Itacaré was founded as a Portuguese colonial settlement, originally called São Jorge dos Ilhéus, in 1532. The town was a notorious hangout for Dutch and Portuguese pirates during the early colonial period and later became a hub for the cocoa planting and a port for whalers. It was officially given city status in 1881.