The summit
Top of the Mantiqueira.
Henrique Boney — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wilson Neves de Miranda — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ederson Ladeira da Silva — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ederson Ladeira da Silva — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rodrigo Rocha — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wilson Neves de Miranda — CC BY-SA 2.0
Pedra da Mina is Brazil's fourth-highest mountain at 2,798 metres, the highest point of the Mantiqueira mountains and of São Paulo state and the second-highest in Minas Gerais, standing on the border of the two states in the «Serra Fina». Oddly, despite its height and nearness to crowded regions, it stayed almost unknown until the early 21st century, when its height was measured precisely and official statistics and schoolbooks had to correct the «highest point in São Paulo». The first documented ascent was in 1955, by a party of eight on the initiative of four German immigrants. The whole mountain is alkaline nepheline syenite, a rock that erodes easily and is rarely found this high, and it is thought to be the highest mountain of that rock in the Americas. Climbing Pedra da Mina is a serious mountain trip, usually done over two days with a night out, or as part of the famous three- to four-day «Serra Fina traverse», and hiring one of the local guides in Passa Quatro, the area's base, is strongly advised.
Top of the Mantiqueira.
Three or four days.
Nepheline syenite.
Serra Fina, Mantiqueira mountains, on the Minas Gerais-São Paulo border
2,798 metres, Brazil's fourth-highest mountain and the highest point of São Paulo state.