Guaraquecaba Ecological Station and Alto Ribeira Touristic State Park

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Guaraquecaba Ecological Station

   Guaraqueçaba is one of those places in Brazil where the road gives up before the forest does. It lies on the northern shore of the great bay of Paranaguá, on the coast of Paraná state, surrounded by mangroves, islands, tidal channels and the steep, forested slopes of the Serra do Mar. The ecological station protects a large area of mangroves and coastal forest, and it is part of the Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves, a World Heritage Site that preserves some of the best remaining stretches of the Mata Atlântica, a forest that once covered much of Brazil's coast and has now been reduced to a fraction of its former extent.

   Read the complete Guaraquecaba Ecological Station write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Guaraquecaba Ecological Station is where the day begins. Next is Jacupiranga State Park.

2. 2. Jacupiranga State Park

   The Vale do Ribeira, in the far south of São Paulo state, holds the largest continuous remnant of Atlantic Forest left in Brazil, and the Jacupiranga area, near the border with Paraná, is part of that green expanse. The Atlantic Forest once covered much of Brazil's coast, but centuries of logging, farming and urban growth reduced it to a fraction of its former extent, and what remains here, together with neighbouring reserves, forms part of the UNESCO site of the Atlantic Forest Southeast Reserves, inscribed in 1999. The forest is incredibly rich in species, with jaguars, pumas, monkeys, toucans and countless orchids and bromeliads.

   Read the complete Jacupiranga State Park write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Jacupiranga State Park comes up about 155 km into the recorded legs. Next is Alto Ribeira Touristic State Park.

3. 3. Alto Ribeira Touristic State Park

   The Ribeira valley, in the south of Sao Paulo state, holds the largest remaining stretch of Atlantic Forest in Brazil, and under it lies one of the great cave regions of the Americas. The park called PETAR, the Alto Ribeira Touristic State Park, covers hills of limestone that are riddled with hundreds of caves, many of them with underground rivers, huge chambers and elaborate formations of stalactites and stalagmites. The forest above is thick with ferns, bromeliads and trees draped in moss, and it belongs to the Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves, a UNESCO World Heritage listing from 1999.

   Read the complete Alto Ribeira Touristic State Park write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 318 km into the recorded legs you reach Alto Ribeira Touristic State Park. Next is back through Jacupiranga State Park.

4. 4. back through Jacupiranga State Park

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Jacupiranga State Park write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Jacupiranga State Park, late in the day. Next is Guaraquecaba Ecological Station.

5. 5. Guaraquecaba Ecological Station

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Guaraquecaba Ecological Station write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Guaraquecaba Ecological Station. That is the ride.