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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Morro da Vila Velha and Paraty and Ilha Grande - Culture and Biodi

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
159 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 04
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.

Open this ride in CurveScout

Why this ride

A 159 km round trip from Paraty - roughly 3 h 04 in the saddle. The stops in between: Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu, Paraty and Ilha Grande - Culture and Biodi and back through Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 800 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.

Scenic road chapters

Rio-Santos Highway

Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 21 km this is Rio-Santos Highway, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.

Chapter facts
Length
21 km
Named road
Rio-Santos Highway

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Morro da Vila Velha

    Paraty sits between the mountains and the sea, and Morro da Vila Velha, a hill beside the old town, is a good vantage for seeing why. The mountains of the Serra do Mar rise steeply behind, covered in Atlantic forest, and the bay in front is dotted with islands. Portuguese settlers took the site in the sixteenth century, and in the eighteenth it became the port for gold from Minas Gerais, carried down the Caminho do Ouro on mule trains and loaded onto ships. UNESCO listed Paraty and Ilha Grande together in 2019, recognising both the culture and the nature.

    Read the complete Morro da Vila Velha write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Morro da Vila Velha is where the day begins. Next is Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu.

  2. 2. 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.

    Read the complete Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu comes up 33 km in. Next is Paraty and Ilha Grande - Culture and Biodi.

  3. 3. Paraty and Ilha Grande - Culture and Biodi

    There are few places where a rainforest drops directly into the sea, and the coast between Rio and Santos is one of them. Paraty sits at the edge of a bay, with the mountains of the Serra da Bocaina rising steeply behind and the green islands of the bay scattered in front. The town was founded in the seventeenth century and prospered as the port where gold from the mines of Minas Gerais was shipped to Rio and on to Portugal, brought down the mountain on the Gold Road, the Caminho do Ouro, which you can still walk in places. UNESCO listed Paraty and Ilha Grande in 2019, as a landscape of culture and biodiversity.

    Read the complete Paraty and Ilha Grande - Culture and Biodi write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    66 km in you reach Paraty and Ilha Grande - Culture and Biodi. Next is back through Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu.

  4. 4. back through Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    back through Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu, late in the day. Next is Morro da Vila Velha.

  5. 5. Morro da Vila Velha

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Morro da Vila Velha write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Back at Morro da Vila Velha. That is the ride.

Leg by leg

Morro da Vila Velha to Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu

Morro da Vila Velha → Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu to Paraty and Ilha Grande - Culture and Biodi

Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu → Paraty and Ilha Grande - Culture and Biodi is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Paraty and Ilha Grande - Culture and Biodi to back through Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu

Paraty and Ilha Grande - Culture and Biodi → back through Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu to Morro da Vila Velha

back through Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu → Morro da Vila Velha is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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