The summit
Forest down to the sea.
Daniel Souza Lima — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Chewbacca — CC BY 2.0 · Heris Luiz Cordeiro Rocha — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Eduardo Martins Soares — CC BY 2.0 · Eduardo Martins Soares — CC BY 2.0
Monte Pascoal, the 536-metre mountain above the southern Bahia coast, was the first land the Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral saw when he reached Brazil in 1500, which is how it got its name. The national and historical park around it, created in 1961, protects about 22,000 hectares of Atlantic forest, part of which overlaps the Barra Velha land of the Pataxó indigenous people. It belongs to the group of «Discovery Coast» reserves listed as a World Heritage Site. The forest shelters many threatened birds, among them the red-browed amazon and the red-billed curassow. You enter from the village of «Pé do Monte» at the foot of the mountain, where the visitor centre stands, and Pataxó guides lead visitors, explaining the plants and the history of the land. The best-known trail climbs to the summit, short in distance but steep and taking a few hours, and from the top the forest runs down to the sea. The park is far from Porto Seguro and needs a full day by car, so arrange the visit with the village guides in advance.
Forest down to the sea.
Plants and history.
In the Atlantic forest.
Entrance at Pé do Monte village off the BR-101, southern Bahia
It was the first land Pedro Álvares Cabral sighted when he reached Brazil in 1500.