Serra da Graciosa Turistical Preservation and Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
1190 km
Riding-time estimate
20 h 32
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.
1190 km from Campina Grande do Sul to Campina Grande do Sul, about 20 h 32 of riding. The stops in between: Guaraquecaba Ecological Station, Superagui National Park, Ilha do Cardoso State Park and Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Serra da Graciosa Turistical Preservation
The Serra da Graciosa is the steep green escarpment that separates the high plateau around Curitiba from the coastal plain of Paraná, and the old Graciosa road that runs down it is among the most scenic in southern Brazil. The road was opened in the nineteenth century, linking the interior with the port of Antonina on the Atlantic coast, and for a long time it was the main way for mule trains carrying mate and goods down to the sea. It is about thirty kilometres long, and parts of it are still paved with old stone, which gives it a rattling, slippery character in the wet.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Serra da Graciosa Turistical Preservation is where the day begins. Next is Guaraquecaba Ecological Station.
2. Guaraquecaba Ecological Station
Guaraqueçaba is one of those places in Brazil where the road gives up before the forest does. It lies on the northern shore of the great bay of Paranaguá, on the coast of Paraná state, surrounded by mangroves, islands, tidal channels and the steep, forested slopes of the Serra do Mar. The ecological station protects a large area of mangroves and coastal forest, and it is part of the Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves, a World Heritage Site that preserves some of the best remaining stretches of the Mata Atlântica, a forest that once covered much of Brazil's coast and has now been reduced to a fraction of its former extent.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Guaraquecaba Ecological Station comes up about 196 km into the recorded legs. Next is Superagui National Park.
3. Superagui National Park
You cannot ride into Superagui, and that is exactly why it is still here. The national park covers islands, mangroves, beaches and lowland Atlantic Forest on the northern coast of Paraná state in southern Brazil, and it belongs to the UNESCO-listed Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves. Access is by boat, mostly from Paranaguá or from the small town of Guaraqueçaba, and the reward is a stretch of coastline with no roads, few people and a very rare monkey: the black-faced lion tamarin, which scientists only described in 1990 and which lives in a tiny area of these forests.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 309 km into the recorded legs you reach Superagui National Park. Next is Ilha do Cardoso State Park.
4. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ilha do Cardoso State Park, about halfway. Next is Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone.
5. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 1190 km.
Leg by leg
Serra da Graciosa Turistical Preservation to Guaraquecaba Ecological Station
Serra da Graciosa Turistical Preservation → Guaraquecaba Ecological Station is 196 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Guaraquecaba Ecological Station to Superagui National Park
Guaraquecaba Ecological Station → Superagui National Park is 113 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Superagui National Park to Ilha do Cardoso State Park
Superagui National Park → Ilha do Cardoso State Park is 148 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ilha do Cardoso State Park to Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone
Ilha do Cardoso State Park → Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone is 139 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone to back through Ilha do Cardoso State Park
Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone → back through Ilha do Cardoso State Park is 139 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ilha do Cardoso State Park to back through Superagui National Park
back through Ilha do Cardoso State Park → back through Superagui National Park is 148 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Superagui National Park to back through Guaraquecaba Ecological Station
back through Superagui National Park → back through Guaraquecaba Ecological Station is 113 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Guaraquecaba Ecological Station to Serra da Graciosa Turistical Preservation
back through Guaraquecaba Ecological Station → Serra da Graciosa Turistical Preservation is 196 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.