Dedo de Deus
A stone finger to the sky.
Carlos Perez Couto — CC BY-SA 3.0 · MarinelsonAlmeidaSilva — CC BY-SA 4.0 · MarinelsonAlmeidaSilva — CC BY-SA 4.0 · KarlaFPaiva — CC BY-SA 4.0
Serra dos Órgãos, the Organ Range, is a national park in the mountains of Rio de Janeiro state, named by Portuguese settlers because its line of peaks reminded them of the pipes of organs in European churches. Created on 30 November 1939, the third national park in Brazil, it protects the headwaters of rivers and these dramatic mountains. It has ten peaks above 2,000 metres, the highest Pedra do Sino (2,263 metres), and the most famous Dedo de Deus, God's Finger (1,692 metres), a rock shaped like a hand raising a finger to the sky, which appears in the background of the Rio de Janeiro state flag. Atlantic forest covers its slopes, with waterfalls and pools. The park has three entrances, at Petrópolis, Teresópolis and Guapimirim, with short trails to waterfalls and pools, and a long traverse over the peaks between Petrópolis and Teresópolis over several days, best walked with a guide. Entry is free, but each entrance has a daily visitor cap and the gates close when it is reached, so go early and carry your passport.
A stone finger to the sky.
In Atlantic forest.
A walk of several days.
Petrópolis entrance at Corrêas; other entrances at Teresópolis and Guapimirim
Yes, entry is free at all three entrances, but you need your passport and each entrance has a daily visitor cap, so go early.