Pelourinho — Dona Maria's Canticles
Uncover the forbidden Candomblé canticles of Dona Maria hidden in Pelourinho's sacred sites. Decipher coded hymns to break the colonial curse before it silences the terreiros forever.
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
In the shadowed alleys of Pelourinho, Dona Maria, the revered Candomblé priestess, compiled her secret 'Livre des Cantiques' during Brazil's turbulent colonial era
Pelourinho — Dona Maria's Canticles
You are Dona Maria, a former freed slave turned smuggler of forbidden books in colonial Salvador of 1780.
You climb from Praça Tomé de Sousa toward the heights of the centro
Dive into the Afro-Brazilian soul of Pelourinho, UNESCO World Heritage since 1985, where resistance canticles of slaves still echo through the 18th-century cobbled streets.
The story that haunts this land
Your quest begins at Palácio Rio Branco, former governors' residence built in 1549 by Tomé de Sousa, Brazil's first general administrator. This 5,000 m² neoclassical building, renovated in 1912, housed the colonial power that banned education for slaves. In its fresco-decorated halls, Dona Maria had to negotiate with authorities to protect her network. From Praça Tomé de Sousa stretching before the palace, you overlook Baía de Todos os Santos from 72 meters high, connected to the lower city by Elevador Lacerda inaugurated in 1873.
Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos, 500 meters from the palace, becomes your first secret hideout. Built between 1704 and 1780 exclusively by slaves and freed Afro-Brazilians, this 30-meter high baroque church blends Portuguese art with African influences. Listed as national monument in 1938, it symbolizes religious resistance where Dona Maria hid her manuscripts in ex-votos dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, patron of the oppressed.
Your route then leads to Casa do Benin, then Fundação Casa de Jorge Amado, temple of the Bahian writer born in 1912. Jorge Amado, who lived in Pelourinho, immortalized in his novels strong women figures like Dona Maria. His house-museum preserves manuscripts of 'Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon' and 'Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands', works celebrating Bahian cultural mixing inherited from colonial times.
Escadaria do Passo, monumental staircase of 72 steps built in the 17th century, makes you climb 4 meters of width decorated with 18th-century Portuguese azulejos. These decorated ceramic tiles hid coded messages that Dona Maria transmitted between upper town and Terreiro de Jesus. This staircase directly connects Praça Tomé de Sousa to Pelourinho's spiritual heart, mandatory passage for secret brotherhoods.
Your investigation culminates at Terreiro de Jesus, emblematic 100x80 meter square surrounded by six baroque churches from the 17th-18th centuries. Site of Brazil's first university founded in 1808, this cobbled square was the clandestine intellectual center where Dona Maria organized her meetings. The 1672 Basílica Cathedral dominates this UNESCO World Heritage space since 1985, living testimony to five centuries of Afro-Brazilian cultural resistance in northeastern Brazil.
A game, a guided tour and a heritage guide — all in one
You're not just buying an escape game. You're carrying a living guide — historical anecdotes, forgotten legends, key monuments, hidden architecture — unfolding as you go.
At each stop, places ordinary guides miss — secret façades, sculpted crests, alleys steeped in history.
Every riddle is rooted in a real historical fact or local legend. You leave with dozens of stories to tell.
Learn to read buildings — flamboyant Gothic, Baroque, Art Deco — like a real art historian, while having fun.
Walk through the city like a novel's character — every alley becomes a stage, every square a theatre.
A voice walks with you at every step, tells the story of each place, reads clues, adds a cinematic feel.
Keep access to the guide & game for 1 year. Come back any time, share it with friends.
« You will not leave this city the way you entered it. »
How does it work?
Explore the city on foot solving puzzles based on real historical facts. No locked room — the city is your playground.
No app to download. Play directly from your browser. Guided step by step, at your own pace.
One purchase per phone is enough. Play with family, friends or as a couple — everyone participates.
Point your phone at the façade: a historical character appears and speaks to you in your language. Golden letters magically write themselves on the wall to reveal the puzzle answer.
Stuck? Progressive personalised hints. The character repeats the puzzle on demand — at your own pace.
French, English, German, Spanish, Italian + 27 other languages auto-translated by AI.
The game downloads to your phone on start. Once the "✓ Downloaded" indicator appears, everything works without data — narration, AR, GPS and puzzles. Perfect abroad without a data plan.
Want to go deeper?
Places tied to your adventure — optional entries, totally up to you · per person
The Route
8 stages through the city
The gameplay: AR, camera, hidden clues
At each stop, open your phone camera: an augmented reality character appears on the façade and speaks your language. Hunt the clue — it materializes as golden letters on the real wall or floats in front of you. When you find it, the phone vibrates, an AR chest opens and reveals your answer fragment. 8 stops, 8 clues to find with the camera, 1 final code.
The stops on your route are a surprise. You'll discover them one by one, guided by your phone, starting from the meeting point.
How does it work with a group?
One phone = one team. Pick the number at checkout (1 to 10).
Solo, or a group sharing the screen. One team, one code.
Family, couple, or 2-3 teams competing. Each phone has its own code and its own score.
Friends, bachelor/bachelorette, small office outing — each their own code, each plays at their own pace. Tiered pricing then €6 flat per phone from the 6th.
- ✓All codes are independent — play at the same time OR separately, each team advances at its own pace.
- ✓Leaderboard between your teams + global game leaderboard — each score appears in the public ranking.
- ✓More than 10 phones or need a personalized quest? Discover custom tours.
Ready to live this adventure?
Get my code · 12€No calendar booking. Code sent immediately by email.
🔒 Secure payment · Code in 5 min · Free cancellation
Practical info
Why this route?
African Rhythms
Immerse yourself in the sounds and traditions of Candomblé and Capoeira.
Colonial Architecture
Explore the colorful streets and Baroque monuments of a UNESCO site.
Memory Rediscovered
Reconstruct the ancestral knowledge of a legendary Mãe de Santo.
Gather the songs, awaken the heritage.
The past whispers, will you listen?
9 features nobody else has
OddballTrip combines gamified play, augmented reality and AI. All our competitors deliver 1 or 2 of these angles. We deliver all 5.
AR treasure chest
A golden chest floats in front of the monument. Tap → opening animation → reveals a secret message.
AR narrator character
Point your phone at the façade: a knight, witch, monk, sailor, detective or ghost appears full-screen and speaks to you in your language with their dedicated ElevenLabs voice (each character has their own unique voice) — your living guide.
Magic golden letters
At the puzzle climax, golden letters magically write themselves on the real wall — that's the puzzle answer. An unforgettable visual effect.
Written + audio narration
Every puzzle available as text AND voice-over: read at your own pace or listen eyes-free while walking. Great in groups and for accessibility.
360° radar + vibration
A mini-radar shows the target even behind you, and the phone vibrates when you aim in the right direction.
Heritage storytelling
Every puzzle weaves in real historical facts (architecture, era, anecdotes). You learn by playing — like a gamified audioguide.
Progressive AI hints
3 levels of AI-generated help: vibe → where to look → answer format. You're never stuck.
AR selfie memento
At the end of the game, capture a selfie with OddballTrip banner + mascot, shareable on Instagram, TikTok.
Zero app to install
PWA technology: open the link, it plays in your browser. Same quality as an app, no App Store hassle.
Frequently asked questions
Q01Do I need an app or a paper guide?
Neither. Everything plays in your browser (Safari, Chrome) after you tap your activation link. No PDF to print, no download. The trail lives in your phone, that's it.
Q02Can we split Pelourinho — Dona Maria's Canticles across two days?
Yes — your code stays active and progress is saved. You can start Saturday afternoon, finish Sunday morning. Some players actually prefer this format to make the most of a full weekend on site.
Q03Can we do Pelourinho — Dona Maria's Canticles as a family with kids?
Yes, from age 6 with an adult reading puzzles aloud, and from age 12 on their own. Kids love the "find the camera clue" part — it's very visual, gets them genuinely involved.
Q04What if we get stuck on a puzzle?
Three hint levels per puzzle, with a small increasing time penalty. If truly stuck after level 3, you can skip the step (45-min penalty). The point: nobody stays blocked and goes home frustrated.
Avis des aventuriers
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Your turn to play
Dive into the Afro-Brazilian soul of Pelourinho, UNESCO World Heritage since 1985, where resistance canticles of slaves still echo through the 18th-century cobbled streets.
1 purchase = 1 phone. Play several on the same device.
No calendar booking. Code sent immediately by email.
🔒Secure payment · Code in 5 min · Free cancellation
🪙+24 TripCoins granted with your booking
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