The municipality's name derives from the three basalt towers standing in the ocean, giving the beach its distinctive appearance.

Today, with a population of 33,686 permanent inhabitants, Torres is an important tourist centre, with more than fifty hotels, restaurants and bars.

Unlike the rest of the state's coast, which is uninterrupted sandy beach, Torres boasts four high rocky formations standing in the sea.

These vertical columns are almost 40 meters high and contain several caves created by the action of the waves over the years, locally called furnas.

[13] Tourists may visit the Ilha dos Lobos (Island of the Wolves), which is located directly in front of the Praia Grande beach, approximately 1700 meters off shore.

Praia Grande beach is 2 km long; it is preferred for sea bathing and sports such as soccer, volleyball, surfing, kitesurfing and several others.

It is possible to practice Tow-in surfing in a point break near Ilha dos Lobos and waves as high as 10 meters have been registered there; however, access is difficult and good conditions are rare.

[citation needed] These are located in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte.