Instituto Penal Cândido Mendes Ruins
The ruins of a maximum-security island prison, nicknamed the "Devil's Cauldron," that held political prisoners and gave rise to a major Brazilian criminal faction.
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Share a photoHistory & haunting lore
Operating from 1903 to 1994 on Ilha Grande, the prison housed both common and political prisoners, including writer Graciliano Ramos, and became notorious for brutal, overcrowded conditions. In the early 1970s, alliances formed among inmates here helped give rise to the criminal organization that evolved into the Comando Vermelho.
Demolished with explosives in 1994 to open the island to tourism, only fragments of walls and cell blocks remain today alongside a small prison museum, and residents who lived through its operation still point out the "Curva da Morte" (Death Curve) on the old prison road, named for a fatal truck accident rather than any documented haunting.
Current site status
The ruins and Museu do Cárcere are open for public visits daily from 8am to 5pm, reached via a roughly 12km jungle trail or boat from Vila do Abraão; overnight camping is prohibited.