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DJ Mag Top100 Clubs
32
El Fortin
9

Location: Porto Belo, Brazil
Capacity: 12,000

elfortin.art.br

There’s no secret to El Fortin’s success. It’s a back-to-basics Brazilian beach club where you can dance until dawn with sand between your toes to some of the best DJs in the world. It’s essentially as good as clubbing gets, and Brazilians know it, which is why it’s packed out with 12,000 clubbers every weekend.

The location helps, too. The three-stage club is nestled on a drop-dead-gorgeous stretch of Brazilian coastline alive with azure blue seas and swaying palm trees. The main action takes place in the sprawling beach-hut-like mainstage, which features house DJs like Lou Lou Players, Lee Foss and Sharam Jey on regular rotation. And equipped with a Funktion-One soundsystem, the open-air stage is a calling card for miles around, attracting clubbers like a house music homing beacon. Plus, with a ground-level booth, the DJs are right in the heart of the action, creating an all-together buzz that’s hard to beat.

As you’d expect from such a vast, sprawling venue, it’s the perfect location for in-house festivals. And Brazilians don’t need much of an excuse for a fiesta, with huge DJ line-ups taking over the club every few months, offering everything from house and trance to techno and EDM.