The municipality of Guaruja corresponds to Ilha de Santo Amaro, a large island that remained almost unexplored during the colonial and imperial times. In the end of the XIX century, an ambitious enterprise turned Guaruja into a beach resort town for wealthy Paulistas, and it became a full municipality in 1947. The beauty of the island gave its nickname "The Pearl of the Atlantic".
Guaruja also has relics from history such as the Barra Grande Fortress built in the 16th century, the Forte Velho just 8 km from the centre and the Armacao das Baleias, the first industrial plant set up in the state for the extraction of whale oil
