Carioca Mountaion range - Tijuca National and Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
585 km
Riding-time estimate
11 h 14
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A 585 km round trip from Rio de Janeiro - roughly 11 h 14 in the saddle. It goes by way of Sítio Roberto Burle Marx, Ilha Grande State Park, Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu and back through Ilha Grande State Park. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Carioca Mountaion range - Tijuca National
Rio de Janeiro is a city that was clearly arranged by a geologist with a sense of humour. Granite domes rise straight out of the sea and the streets, and the Carioca mountains run through the middle of the city, so that the natural forest is a few minutes from the beaches. UNESCO's listing, called the Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea, includes Tijuca National Park, the Botanical Garden, Sugarloaf, Copacabana and Corcovado, the peak where the statue of Christ the Redeemer opens his arms over the city. The statue is thirty metres tall, stands on an eight-metre base at about seven hundred metres above the sea, and was inaugurated in 1931.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Carioca Mountaion range - Tijuca National is where the day begins. Next is Sítio Roberto Burle Marx.
2. Sítio Roberto Burle Marx
Roberto Burle Marx changed the way the world thought about gardens. The Brazilian landscape architect, painter and plant collector, who died in 1994, designed the wave-patterned promenade along Copacabana beach, the gardens of the Ministry of Education in Rio, and hundreds of other parks and gardens, using native tropical plants in bold, abstract compositions. In 1949 he bought a former coffee estate in Barra de Guaratiba, in the far west of Rio de Janeiro, and turned it into his home, studio and laboratory, filling it with thousands of plant species collected on expeditions across Brazil. Sítio Roberto Burle Marx was added to the World Heritage list in 2021.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sítio Roberto Burle Marx comes up 65 km in. Next is Ilha Grande State Park.
3. Ilha Grande State Park
Off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state, between Rio and Paraty, Ilha Grande rises from the sea, a mountainous island covered in Atlantic rainforest, with dozens of beaches, coves and waterfalls. For much of the twentieth century, it was home to a notorious prison and a leper colony, which kept development at bay, and today, most of the island is protected as a state park. It is part of the UNESCO site Paraty and Ilha Grande, Culture and Biodiversity, listed in 2019.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
129 km in you reach Ilha Grande State Park. Next is Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu.
4. Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu
Between the old colonial port of Paraty and the border of São Paulo state, the mountains of the Serra do Mar come down to the sea in a jumble of forested peaks, rocky headlands and small, perfect bays, and the Cairuçu Environmental Protection Area covers much of this coast. It is part of the World Heritage site of Paraty and Ilha Grande, inscribed in 2019 for its combination of cultural and natural values. The forest here is the Mata Atlântica, the Atlantic rainforest, one of the richest and most threatened ecosystems on the planet, home to monkeys, toucans, hummingbirds and countless species of orchids and bromeliads. Within the area lie fishing villages of caiçaras, the traditional coastal people, and settlements of quilombolas, descendants of escaped slaves, as well as Guarani villages.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Carioca Mountaion range - Tijuca National closes the day.
Leg by leg
Carioca Mountaion range - Tijuca National to Sítio Roberto Burle Marx
Carioca Mountaion range - Tijuca National → Sítio Roberto Burle Marx is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sítio Roberto Burle Marx to Ilha Grande State Park
Sítio Roberto Burle Marx → Ilha Grande State Park is 96 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Ilha Grande State Park to Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu
Ilha Grande State Park → Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu to back through Ilha Grande State Park
Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu → back through Ilha Grande State Park is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ilha Grande State Park to back through Sítio Roberto Burle Marx
back through Ilha Grande State Park → back through Sítio Roberto Burle Marx is 96 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Sítio Roberto Burle Marx to Carioca Mountaion range - Tijuca National
back through Sítio Roberto Burle Marx → Carioca Mountaion range - Tijuca National is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.