Why this ride
It goes by way of Lauraceas State Park, Pariquera - Abaixo State Park, Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone and Ilha do Cardoso State Park. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Xitue Ecological Station and Ilha do Cardoso State Park
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 867 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 20 h 33
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Xitue Ecological Station
The Xitue Ecological Station is a different kind of place from most on a route map, because it is not for visitors. It is a strictly protected reserve in the interior of Sao Paulo state, set aside for scientific research and conservation, and normal tourism is not allowed. It forms part of the Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves, the UNESCO listing that protects what is left of a forest that once covered the whole Brazilian coast and has been reduced to a small fraction of its former extent. Its role is to keep a piece of that forest intact, as a reference and a refuge for animals and plants that cannot survive elsewhere.
Read the complete Xitue Ecological Station write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Xitue Ecological Station is where the day begins. Next is Lauraceas State Park.
2. Lauraceas State Park
The Vale do Ribeira is one of the least developed regions of São Paulo state, a long valley of banana plantations, tea fields, small towns and thick forest, with a river that runs unimpeded to the sea. Because it was never heavily built up, it holds the largest remaining block of Atlantic Forest in Brazil, and the state parks of the area, among them Lauráceas, protect it. The name refers to the laurel family, which includes trees such as canelas and sassafras that grow tall in the damp forest, and which give the park its scent of spice when the wind moves the leaves.
Read the complete Lauraceas State Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Lauraceas State Park comes up 52 km in. Next is Pariquera - Abaixo State Park.
3. Pariquera - Abaixo State Park
Between the Ribeira de Iguape river and the coast of southern São Paulo state, the land is low, green and wet, covered in a patchwork of banana plantations, rice fields, mangroves and patches of dense Atlantic Forest. The Pariquera-Abaixo State Park protects one of these patches, part of the larger network of Atlantic Forest reserves of southeast Brazil listed by UNESCO in 1999, a region that holds some of the most extensive surviving stretches of this once vast forest.
Read the complete Pariquera - Abaixo State Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
104 km in you reach Pariquera - Abaixo State Park. Next is Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone.
4. 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.
Read the complete Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone, about halfway. Next is Ilha do Cardoso State Park.
5. 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.
Read the complete Ilha do Cardoso State Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ilha do Cardoso State Park sits at 208 km, about halfway. Next is back through Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone.
6. back through Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone comes up 260 km in. Next is back through Pariquera - Abaixo State Park.
7. back through Pariquera - Abaixo State Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pariquera - Abaixo State Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
312 km in you reach back through Pariquera - Abaixo State Park. Next is back through Lauraceas State Park.
8. back through Lauraceas State Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Lauraceas State Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Lauraceas State Park, late in the day. Next is Xitue Ecological Station.
9. Xitue Ecological Station
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Xitue Ecological Station 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 867 km.
Leg by leg
Xitue Ecological Station to Lauraceas State Park
Xitue Ecological Station → Lauraceas State Park is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lauraceas State Park to Pariquera - Abaixo State Park
Lauraceas State Park → Pariquera - Abaixo State Park is 78 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Pariquera - Abaixo State Park to Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone
Pariquera - Abaixo State Park → Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone to Ilha do Cardoso State Park
Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone → Ilha do Cardoso State Park is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ilha do Cardoso State Park to back through Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone
Ilha do Cardoso State Park → back through Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone to back through Pariquera - Abaixo State Park
back through Ilha Comprida Wild Life Zone → back through Pariquera - Abaixo State Park is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pariquera - Abaixo State Park to back through Lauraceas State Park
back through Pariquera - Abaixo State Park → back through Lauraceas State Park is 78 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Lauraceas State Park to Xitue Ecological Station
back through Lauraceas State Park → Xitue Ecological Station is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.