Gold Trail
A colonial stone road.
Rosangela C. Magalhães — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ricardo Takamura — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Katia Maria da Cruz Portugal — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Halley Pacheco de Oliveira — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Thiago Sieiro Cunha — CC BY-SA 3.0
Serra da Bocaina National Park covers about 104,000 hectares across the border between the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, from mountain tops down to the Paraty coast, and was created in 1971. About sixty per cent of it is original Atlantic forest and the rest has regrown over decades; its highest point, Pico do Tira o Chapéu, reaches 2,088 metres. Several frog species live nowhere else, alongside monkeys, sloths, deer and many birds, and the headquarters are in São José do Barreiro. Its best-known trek is the «Gold Trail» (Trilha do Ouro), a colonial stone road along which gold was carried from the interior to the coast; walkers take about three days from the São José do Barreiro uplands down to Mambucaba on the ocean, through forest, waterfalls and clear rivers. Part of the park's coastal section lies around Paraty, its forests running down to the sea. The long trails need a guide and planning, reached from Paraty or from São José do Barreiro. The best walking season is the dry months from April to September.
A colonial stone road.
Clear forest rivers.
Species found nowhere else.
Park headquarters in São José do Barreiro (São Paulo), with access from the Paraty side
A colonial stone road once used to carry gold to the coast, walked in about three days from São José do Barreiro to Mambucaba; a guide is advised.