Piranhas, Alagoas

Historically Piranhas was the upstream limit of navigation on the lower São Francisco River. Immediately upstream of Piranhas there were impassable rapids, and 60 km further upstream was the major falls at Paulo Afonso. Above those falls the São Francisco became navigable again for over 1500 km.

In 1881 Piranhas became the start of a railway line which was designed to bypass these obstacles to navigation. The line rose out of the deeply cut valley of the river and then, paralleling it at a distance of several kilometres, set off in a north-westerly direction, before rejoining it further upstream. The line passed through a series of small towns including Olho d'Água das Flores and Delmiro Gouveia, before reaching its destination at Petrolândia, on the banks of the upper São Francisco, and approximately 80 km upstream from Piranhas.

From 1881 to 1903 this railway was known as the Estrada de Ferro Paulo Afonso. After this date the line was incorporated successively in two other rail companies before closing finally in 1964. The line was never incorporated physically into any railway network, remaining a single, single track, line from beginning to end. Today the stretch of the abandoned trackbed, which climbs up the side of the valley from the centre of Piranhas, provides a walking route with views of São Francisco in the valley below and of the Xingó Dam hydroelectric installation, just upstream of the town.

Today Piranhas can be reached by boat from several ports along the São Francisco, or by car, via a paved road from Maceió (AL-225).