Santa Catarina Island, popular with tourists (particularly at carnival time), is famous mainly for its numerous beaches, each more beautiful than the next. While the north coast is something of a concrete jungle because of mass tourism, to the southeast lie large beaches that are renowned among surfers (Praia do Matadeiro, Praia do Saquinho). The southwest, the first area of the island to be discovered by the colonists, has remained much more authentic. Small fishing villages settled at the foot of the mountains a long time ago.