dest itatiaia

ITATIAIA NATIONAL PARK

Imagem: Rudi Böhm

The Itatiaia National Park is a conservation area that protects important remnants of the Atlantic Forest Biome. Located in the Itatiaia Massif in the Mantiqueira Mountains, between the states of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, it includes part of the cities Itatiaia and Resende in Rio de Janeiro, and Bocaina de Minas and Itamonte in Minas Gerais.

The Itatiaia Park is the oldest national park in Brazil, created on June 14, 1937 by the then President Getulio Vargas.

For visitation purposes, the Itatiaia National Park is divided into: The Itatiaia Plateau, The Lower Regions, and the Visconde de Maua Region.

In the Plateau:In this region, the predominant vegetation is characterized by altitude grasslands and the main natural attractions are: the Agulhas Negras peak, the Shelves Massif, Aiuruoca Valley, the Altar Stone, the Couto Stone, Hermes' Wing, the Bell Stone and the Seated Stone; besides being the starting point for the Ruy Braga, Sierra Negra and Fallen Ranch trekking paths.

In the Lower Regions:The predominant vegetation is dense ombrophilous forest (Atlantic Forest) and the natural attractions are the trails through the forest that lead to many waterfalls. Some of which, like the Itaporani and Maromba, stand apart for their large volume of water as well as beautiful natural pool formations. The enchanting Bridal Veil waterfall (on the Maromba river) is 40 m high, forming a cold and serene veil of mist at its base. The Three Peaks trail crosses through the forest and leads to a 1,622 m overlook of the Paraiba River Valley. Other beautiful attractions include the Foundation Stone and the Last Goodbye overlook. The starting point for the waterfall trails is the Visitor´s Center, where several resources can be found, including a scale model of the park, maps, and films about the park.

The Visconde de Maua Region:this is one of the main tourist poles of Rio Janeiro, with many hotels and restaurants. The main attractions of the Itatiaia National Park in the Visconde de Maua region are the Escorrega and Santa Clara waterfalls. This area will soon have an Information and Control Checkpoint as well as a Visitor´s Center 

Click on the image below to download the folder of the Park.

Capa folder