Paraty Historic Center and Paraty and Ilha Grande - Culture and Biodi
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
159 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 05
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.
From Paraty it runs 159 km to Paraty; allow about 3 h 05 of riding. It goes by way of 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 20 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. Paraty Historic Center
Paraty is a small, white and ochre colonial town on the green coast of Rio de Janeiro state, between the sea and the steep forested wall of the Serra da Bocaina, and it looks almost as it did in the eighteenth century. It grew rich as the port at the end of the gold route: from the 1690s, gold from the mines of Minas Gerais was carried down the mountains by mule on the Caminho do Ouro and shipped from here to Rio and Portugal. When the gold trade moved elsewhere, the town slumbered, and that long sleep is the reason that its streets, churches and houses survived so intact. UNESCO listed Paraty and Ilha Grande in 2019, for the cultural landscape and its biodiversity.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Paraty Historic Center is where the day begins. Next is Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu.
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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu comes up 32 km in. Next is Paraty and Ilha Grande - Culture and Biodi.
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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Paraty Historic Center. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Paraty Historic Center to Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu
Paraty Historic Center → 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 Paraty Historic Center
back through Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu → Paraty Historic Center is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.