Why this ride
The stops in between: Monte Pascoal National Park, Pau Brazil National Park, Veracruz Station and back through Pau Brazil National Park. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Discovery National Park and Veracruz Station
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 542 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 14 h 37
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Discovery National Park
On the coast of southern Bahia, in the stretch of Bahia that Brazilians call the Costa do Descobrimento, a long beach of pale sand curves away beneath coconut palms and low cliffs, and inland the land rises to a green and misty ridge. It was along this shore, on 22 April 1500, that Pedro Álvares Cabral's fleet sighted the round hill of Monte Pascoal, named for Easter, and the first sight of land in what became Brazil. The Pataxó people who lived on this coast met the Portuguese on the beach, and their descendants still live in the area, with some villages open to visitors who wish to learn about their customs and crafts.
Read the complete Discovery National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Discovery National Park is where the day begins. Next is Monte Pascoal National Park.
2. Monte Pascoal National Park
On Easter Sunday 1500 the lookouts of Pedro Álvares Cabral's fleet saw a rounded mountain rising out of the Atlantic haze and called it Monte Pascoal, Easter Mountain. A few days later the Portuguese landed on the coast nearby, and the story of European Brazil began. The mountain still stands over the low forested coastline of southern Bahia, and the national park around it protects some of the last stretches of Atlantic forest in this region. It is part of the Atlantic forest reserves of the Costa do Descobrimento, listed by UNESCO in 1999.
Read the complete Monte Pascoal National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Monte Pascoal National Park comes up about 52 km into the recorded legs. Next is Pau Brazil National Park.
3. Pau Brazil National Park
Brazil is named after a tree. Pau-brasil, brazilwood, grew along the Atlantic coast when the Portuguese arrived in 1500, and its heartwood yields a deep red dye that was worth a fortune in Europe, so the early traders called the land after it. Within a few generations they had cut most of the coastal trees, and the species nearly vanished. Pau Brasil National Park, near Porto Seguro in southern Bahia, protects a patch of lowland Atlantic Forest where some of those trees still stand, with dense, humid woods, vines, palms and the bird calls of the tropics. The park is part of the Costa do Descobrimento Atlantic Forest Reserves, listed by UNESCO in 1999.
Read the complete Pau Brazil National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 178 km into the recorded legs you reach Pau Brazil National Park. Next is Veracruz Station.
4. Veracruz Station
On 22 April 1500, a Portuguese fleet under Pedro Alvares Cabral anchored off this coast of Bahia, and the history of Brazil as a European colony began. The fleet was bound for India, and was blown far to the west, and the first mass in Brazil was held on shore a few days later. The area around Porto Seguro and Santa Cruz Cabralia is still called the Costa do Descobrimento, and the stretch of Atlantic Forest behind it is a UNESCO World Heritage listing, the Atlantic Forest Reserves of that same coast, one of the last pieces of lowland coastal forest in the north-east of the country. Veracruz Station is one of its protected areas.
Read the complete Veracruz Station write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Veracruz Station, about halfway. Next is back through Pau Brazil National Park.
5. back through Pau Brazil National Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pau Brazil National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Pau Brazil National Park sits at 189 km, about halfway. Next is back through Monte Pascoal National Park.
6. back through Monte Pascoal National Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Monte Pascoal National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Monte Pascoal National Park comes up about 489 km into the recorded legs. Next is Discovery National Park.
7. Discovery National Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Discovery National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Discovery National Park closes the day.
Leg by leg
Discovery National Park to Monte Pascoal National Park
Discovery National Park → Monte Pascoal National Park is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Monte Pascoal National Park to Pau Brazil National Park
Monte Pascoal National Park → Pau Brazil National Park is 126 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pau Brazil National Park to Veracruz Station
Pau Brazil National Park → Veracruz Station is 92 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Veracruz Station to back through Pau Brazil National Park
Veracruz Station → back through Pau Brazil National Park is 93 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pau Brazil National Park to back through Monte Pascoal National Park
back through Pau Brazil National Park → back through Monte Pascoal National Park is 126 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Monte Pascoal National Park to Discovery National Park
back through Monte Pascoal National Park → Discovery National Park is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.