Ilha do Cardoso State Park and Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Ilha do Cardoso State Park

   The southern tip of São Paulo's coast frays into a maze of islands, channels and mangroves, and the largest of the islands, Ilha do Cardoso, rises from the sea as a forested mountain ridge. It has been a state park since the 1960s, protecting a remarkable range of habitats in a small space: mountain rainforest, restinga scrub on sandy soils, mangroves, dunes and long empty beaches facing the Atlantic. It is part of the Atlantic Forest Southeast reserves listed by UNESCO.

   Read the complete Ilha do Cardoso State Park write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Ilha do Cardoso State Park is where the day begins. Next is Serra do Itapitangui.

2. 2. Serra do Itapitangui

   The Serra do Itapitangui rises behind Cananéia, on the southern coast of São Paulo state, a modest coastal range covered in dense Atlantic Forest that looks down on one of the best-preserved estuaries in Brazil. The forest here is part of the Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999, which protects a vast area of forest, mangroves and coastal islands stretching from São Paulo into Paraná. The Mata Atlântica once covered much of Brazil's coast; today, only a fraction remains, and this region holds some of the largest and best-preserved stretches.

   Read the complete Serra do Itapitangui write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Serra do Itapitangui comes up about 74 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone.

3. 3. Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone

   Ilha Comprida, the long island, is exactly what its name promises: a narrow barrier island of sand, dunes and restinga scrub that runs for roughly seventy kilometres along the southern coast of São Paulo state, separating the Atlantic from the calm inland waters of the Mar Pequeno. Behind it lies the Lagamar, one of the largest estuarine complexes in Brazil, a maze of channels, mangroves and islands stretching south toward Cananéia and Paranaguá. This entire region, including the Ilha Comprida protected areas, forms part of the Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves, listed by UNESCO in 1999 for preserving one of the richest and most threatened ecosystems on Earth.

   Read the complete Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 177 km into the recorded legs you reach Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone. Next is back through Serra do Itapitangui.

4. 4. back through Serra do Itapitangui

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Serra do Itapitangui write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Serra do Itapitangui, late in the day. Next is Ilha do Cardoso State Park.

5. 5. Ilha do Cardoso State Park

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Ilha do Cardoso State Park write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Ilha do Cardoso State Park. That is the ride.