Why this ride
The stops in between: Pico do Marumbi State Park, Guaraguacu Ecological Station, Ilha do Mel Ecological Station and Superagui National Park. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Zone & State Park Pau Oco Turistical Prese and Superagui National Park
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 591 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 13 h 35
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Estrada da Graciosa
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 21 km this is Estrada da Graciosa, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 21 km
- Named road
- Estrada da Graciosa
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Zone & State Park Pau Oco Turistical Prese
In 1873, the province of Paraná in southern Brazil opened a road down the Serra do Mar from Curitiba to the coast, and it is still there, paved with stone setts, winding through the Atlantic forest in more than a dozen kilometres of bends. The Serra do Mar here is part of the Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves, listed by UNESCO in 1999, one of the largest remaining stretches of a forest that once covered much of the Brazilian coast.
Read the complete Zone & State Park Pau Oco Turistical Prese write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Zone & State Park Pau Oco Turistical Prese is where the day begins. Next is Pico do Marumbi State Park.
2. Pico do Marumbi State Park
There are two ways down from Curitiba to the sea, and both are worth knowing. The modern highway, the BR-277, hurtles down the Serra do Mar in a series of viaducts and tunnels, and the old road, the Estrada da Graciosa, built in the nineteenth century, winds through the same forest on cobblestones, with bends so tight and views so green that bikers talk about it for years. The Serra do Mar is a steep coastal range, covered in Atlantic Forest, with clouds that cling to the peaks, and Pico do Marumbi, at about fifteen hundred metres, is the rocky summit that dominates the skyline.
Read the complete Pico do Marumbi State Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pico do Marumbi State Park comes up 35 km in. Next is Guaraguacu Ecological Station.
3. Guaraguaçu Ecological Station
On the coast of Paraná, between the port city of Paranaguá and the beaches of Pontal do Paraná, the Guaraguaçu Ecological Station protects a stretch of lowland forest, mangrove and sandy restinga along the Guaraguaçu river. It belongs to the network of Atlantic Forest reserves that UNESCO lists for the south and southeast of Brazil, here around the Paranaguá bay, one of the best preserved estuaries on the Brazilian coast. Access to the station itself is restricted, as ecological stations are mainly for research, but the surrounding landscape gives a strong sense of what it protects.
Read the complete Guaraguacu Ecological Station write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
69 km in you reach Guaraguacu Ecological Station. Next is Ilha do Mel Ecological Station.
4. Ilha do Mel Ecological Station
No cars are allowed on Ilha do Mel, the honey island, at the mouth of the bay of Paranaguá in southern Brazil, and that is a large part of its charm. The island is a mix of sandy beaches, rocky headlands, mangroves and Atlantic forest, and most of it is protected as an ecological station and a state park. Its forests, beaches and mangroves are part of the Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves listed by UNESCO, a string of protected areas along the coast of Paraná and São Paulo that preserve some of the best remaining stretches of the Mata Atlântica. The number of visitors is limited, which keeps the island quiet even in summer.
Read the complete Ilha do Mel Ecological Station write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ilha do Mel Ecological Station, about halfway. Next is Superagui National Park.
5. 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.
Read the complete Superagui National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Superagui National Park sits at 139 km, about halfway. Next is back through Ilha do Mel Ecological Station.
6. back through Ilha do Mel Ecological Station
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ilha do Mel Ecological Station write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ilha do Mel Ecological Station comes up 173 km in. Next is back through Guaraguacu Ecological Station.
7. back through Guaraguacu Ecological Station
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Guaraguacu Ecological Station write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
208 km in you reach back through Guaraguacu Ecological Station. Next is back through Pico do Marumbi State Park.
8. back through Pico do Marumbi State Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pico do Marumbi 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 Pico do Marumbi State Park, late in the day. Next is Zone & State Park Pau Oco Turistical Prese.
9. Zone & State Park Pau Oco Turistical Prese
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Zone & State Park Pau Oco Turistical Prese 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 591 km.
Leg by leg
Zone & State Park Pau Oco Turistical Prese to Pico do Marumbi State Park
Zone & State Park Pau Oco Turistical Prese → Pico do Marumbi State Park is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pico do Marumbi State Park to Guaraguacu Ecological Station
Pico do Marumbi State Park → Guaraguacu Ecological Station is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Guaraguaçu Ecological Station to Ilha do Mel Ecological Station
Guaraguaçu Ecological Station → Ilha do Mel Ecological Station is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ilha do Mel Ecological Station to Superagui National Park
Ilha do Mel Ecological Station → Superagui National Park is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Superagui National Park to back through Ilha do Mel Ecological Station
Superagui National Park → back through Ilha do Mel Ecological Station is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ilha do Mel Ecological Station to back through Guaraguacu Ecological Station
back through Ilha do Mel Ecological Station → back through Guaraguacu Ecological Station is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Guaraguacu Ecological Station to back through Pico do Marumbi State Park
back through Guaraguacu Ecological Station → back through Pico do Marumbi State Park is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pico do Marumbi State Park to Zone & State Park Pau Oco Turistical Prese
back through Pico do Marumbi State Park → Zone & State Park Pau Oco Turistical Prese is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.