Carlos Botelho State Park protects a big piece of the Atlantic Forest on the slopes of the Serra de Paranapiacaba, in the south of São Paulo state, and it is one of the best remaining pieces of a forest that once covered the whole coast of Brazil. Less than a tenth of the original Atlantic Forest survives, and what is left is crowded with life: tapirs, ocelots, the occasional jaguar, hundreds of bird species and the muriqui, the woolly spider monkey, the largest primate in the Americas. The park is among the few places where this endangered monkey still lives.
The forest is dense, damp and layered, with giant trees draped in epiphytes, tree ferns in the understorey and palm trees whose heart is a favourite food of local people. Mist rolls in from the coast, rain is frequent, and the air smells of wet earth and leaf mould. A state road crosses the park, and on that stretch the experience of riding is unusual: a quiet, winding road through walls of green, with patches of fog, wet tarmac, and the sudden calls of birds. Toucans, tanagers and trogons are all possible, and at dawn the forest is loud. Wildlife can wander onto the road, so keep your speed down, particularly in the early morning and at dusk.
Services are limited. Juquiá, about thirty-eight kilometres away with thirteen thousand people, is the nearest town of size, and fuel and food should be arranged there or in the larger towns of the Ribeira valley. The park has a visitor centre and trails, some of them short and easy, others long and demanding. Bring insect repellent, long sleeves and a rain jacket, because ticks, mosquitoes and downpours are all part of the deal.
The road surface varies from good to broken, and heavy rain can cause landslides on slopes. The wet season runs from roughly October to March, and the drier months of May to September are more comfortable for riding, though mist and drizzle are possible all year. UNESCO lists the park as part of the Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves. Respect the signs, keep to marked trails, and take your litter away. The reward is a landscape that feels, in the early morning with mist in the canopy, like something very old.