Why this ride
It goes by way of Discovery National Park, Pau Brazil National Park, PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station and Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Monte Pascoal National Park and Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 538 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 13 h 56
- 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.
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.
Scenic road chapters
Pau Brazil National Park → PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station
22 km on Pau Brazil National Park → PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 22 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Discovery National Park.
2. 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 comes up 40 km in. 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
At least 87 km in you reach Pau Brazil National Park. Next is PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station.
4. PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station
In April 1500, the Portuguese fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral, sailing for India, sighted land on this coast and anchored near what is now Porto Seguro, in southern Bahia, making the first recorded European landfall in Brazil. The country took its name from the pau-brasil, a tree whose red wood was valuable for making dye and was exported in huge quantities in the early colonial period, nearly wiping it out. The CEPLAC experimental station near Porto Seguro, an agricultural research facility, lies within the Atlantic Forest reserves of this coast, listed by UNESCO in 1999 together with other protected areas of the Costa do Descobrimento.
Read the complete PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station, about halfway. Next is Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves.
5. Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves
In April of 1500 the Portuguese fleet under Pedro Álvares Cabral sighted a mountain on the Bahia coast, called it Monte Pascoal because it was Easter, and went ashore nearby. That is the usual start of Brazil's written history, and the stretch of coast around Porto Seguro and Santa Cruz Cabrália has been called the Costa do Descobrimento, the Coast of Finding, ever since. The Atlantic Forest reserves behind the beaches protect what is left of one of the most diverse and most reduced forests on Earth. Only a small fraction of the original Mata Atlântica remains, and the patches in southern Bahia are especially rich in plants and animals found nowhere else.
Read the complete Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves sits at 162 km, about halfway. Next is back through PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station.
6. back through PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station 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 CEPLAC Experimental Station comes up 202 km in. Next is back through Pau Brazil National Park.
7. 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
242 km in you reach back through Pau Brazil National Park. Next is back through Discovery National Park.
8. back through 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
back through Discovery National Park, late in the day. Next is Monte Pascoal National Park.
9. 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
The route ends here after 538 km.
Leg by leg
Monte Pascoal National Park to Discovery National Park
Monte Pascoal National Park → Discovery National Park is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Discovery National Park to Pau Brazil National Park
Discovery National Park → Pau Brazil National Park is 88 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Pau Brazil National Park to PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station
Pau Brazil National Park → PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station to Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves
PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station → Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves to back through PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station
Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves → back through PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station to back through Pau Brazil National Park
back through PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station → back through Pau Brazil National Park is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pau Brazil National Park to back through Discovery National Park
back through Pau Brazil National Park → back through Discovery National Park is 88 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Discovery National Park to Monte Pascoal National Park
back through Discovery National Park → Monte Pascoal National Park is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.