Atlantic Forest
The largest stretch.
Serra do Mar State Park is Brazil's largest Atlantic Forest reserve, covering some 332,000 hectares in twenty-five municipalities of São Paulo state, from the Rio de Janeiro border to Itariri in the south of the state, across the Serra do Mar range whose escarpments dominate the São Paulo coast. The park was created in 1977, when the BR-101 coastal highway was built, and enlarged in 2010. It protects the largest continuous area of Atlantic Forest, linking the forests of Rio de Janeiro with the Ribeira Valley and Paraná. Traditional communities of quilombolas, Indigenous people, caiçaras and caipiras live within it, it shelters hundreds of species of birds and other animals, and it protects water sources supplying part of Greater São Paulo and the coast. The park is run as a series of visitor centres, «núcleos», spread along its length, each with its own trails, waterfalls and rules, among them the Caminhos do Mar centre on the old road between São Paulo and Santos, and others on the north coast and in the Paraíba Valley. Most activities need advance booking, and some need guides.
The largest stretch.
At every centre.
Caminhos do Mar.
The Serra do Mar range from the Rio de Janeiro border to Itariri, São Paulo state
At one of the visitor centres, such as Caminhos do Mar near Santos, after booking.
