Why this ride
From Ilha Grande it runs 338 km to Ilha Grande; allow about 5 h 51 of riding. The stops in between: Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu, Paraty Historic Center and back through Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Praia do Sul Biological Reserve and Paraty Historic Center
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 338 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 51
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Rio-Santos Highway
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 21 km this is Rio-Santos Highway, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 20 km
- Named road
- Rio-Santos Highway
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Praia do Sul Biological Reserve
The southern shore of Ilha Grande, off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state, is one of the few pieces of Brazil's Atlantic coast that is protected as a strict biological reserve, meaning ordinary visits are not allowed. The Praia do Sul reserve was created to guard a long, curved beach backed by a lagoon, a mangrove and a fringe of forest, and it is one of the places where sea turtles come ashore to lay eggs. The island as a whole has no cars, only footpaths, boats and a tradition of fishing villages, and most of its interior is covered in Atlantic forest, which survived because the island had a prison for much of the twentieth century and was kept off limits.
Read the complete Praia do Sul Biological Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Praia do Sul Biological Reserve 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.
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 about 117 km into the recorded legs. Next is Paraty Historic Center.
3. 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.
Read the complete Paraty Historic Center write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 170 km into the recorded legs you reach Paraty Historic Center. Next is back through Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu.
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 Praia do Sul Biological Reserve.
5. Praia do Sul Biological Reserve
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Praia do Sul Biological Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Praia do Sul Biological Reserve. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Praia do Sul Biological Reserve to Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu
Praia do Sul Biological Reserve → Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu is 117 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu to Paraty Historic Center
Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu → Paraty Historic Center is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Paraty Historic Center to back through Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu
Paraty Historic Center → back through Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu to Praia do Sul Biological Reserve
back through Environmental Protection Area of Cairuçu → Praia do Sul Biological Reserve is 117 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.