The Serra da Graciosa is the steep green escarpment that separates the high plateau around Curitiba from the coastal plain of Paraná, and the old Graciosa road that runs down it is among the most scenic in southern Brazil. The road was opened in the nineteenth century, linking the interior with the port of Antonina on the Atlantic coast, and for a long time it was the main way for mule trains carrying mate and goods down to the sea. It is about thirty kilometres long, and parts of it are still paved with old stone, which gives it a rattling, slippery character in the wet.
The surrounding forest is the Mata Atlântica, the Atlantic rainforest, which once covered the whole Brazilian coast and has been reduced to a fraction of its former size. In the Serra do Mar the forest remains thick and damp, with bromeliads, tree ferns, orchids and giant trees, and the mist clings to the slopes for much of the year. Waterfalls and rivers cut through the forest, and the bird life is rich, with toucans, tanagers and many species found nowhere else. The jagged peaks of the Marumbi range, which attract hikers, rise to the south, among them Olimpo, at over fifteen hundred metres.
The road is part of a protected landscape, and its treasures include the stone bridges, viewpoints and a few small restaurants and waterfall parks along the way. The descent is a long run of bends, with the forest closing in on both sides, and the temperature changes as you drop from the cool plateau to the warm, humid coast. Be careful: the wet cobbles and moss make for poor grip, fog can drop in suddenly, and the road is sometimes closed after landslides or heavy rain. Weekends bring cyclists and families, so ride gently.
At the bottom lies Morretes, a charming old town on the Nhundiaquara river, and the home of barreado, a stew of beef cooked slowly for many hours in a clay pot and eaten with manioc flour and bananas. The scenic railway from Curitiba to Morretes, built in the 1880s, runs through the same mountains and is one of the great train rides of Brazil. Antonina and Paranaguá are on the coast beyond.
Campina Grande do Sul, Quatro Barras and Piraquara, on the plateau side, have fuel stations and shops, and there is more in Morretes at the foot. The best months are from April to September, drier and cooler, though mist is always possible.