Itatiaia National Park

Brazil's first National Park.

Itatiaia National Park is Brazil's first National Park and this year marks its 80th anniversary.

In Tupi-Guarani it means pointed rocks and it's no wonder it's known as the Pico das Agulhas Negras.
In the deepest layers of the Itatiaia massif, an ancient volcano is revealed.
A lot has happened in the Itatiaia Park region until today.

The first inhabitants of the Itaipava region were the Puris Indians, who stayed until the end of the 17th century.

However, it wasn't until the beginning of the 19th century, with the passage of the Serra da Mantiqueira, that the plateau region began to be explored by Brazilian and foreign naturalists.

Engineer José Franklin Massena was the first researcher to explore the Itatiaia plateau and take measurements of the Agulhas Negras Peak
In 1878, Engineer André Rebouças, on a visit to the region, proposed the creation of protected natural areas. Today these areas are known as National Parks.

However, it wasn't until 1908 that the government acquired 48,000 hectares of the estate of Henrique Irineu de Souza, son of the Viscount of Mauá, where part of the land was set aside for European settlements.

Before it became a park, it was a European colonization project!

Then, in 1914, the European colonization project failed and the Itatiaia Forest Reserve was set up, on the initiative of Paulo Campos Porto, and in 1937 Getúlio Vargas created the Itatiaia National Park with its 12,000 hectares! Exactly 80 years ago.

The headquarters and current visitor center were built in 1942 and in 1982 the park gained another 18,000 hectares, making a total of 30,000!

Since then, the Itatiaia National Park has been revitalizing its visitor center. The last major change was in 2007, when it celebrated its 70th anniversary.

I was delighted to visit Brazil's first National Park and to be able to learn all about its history, which is also very important for our country.

I didn't know how new the country's conservation units were and that the first one is only 80 years old.
If you compare it to Yellowstone National Park in the United States, which is the oldest in the world at 145 years old, ours turns out to be quite a youngster, doesn't it?

Today the Itatiaia National Park lies between the municipalities of Itatiaia (RJ), Resende (RJ), Itamonte (MG) and Bocaina de Minas (MG) and is divided into two parts: the Upper Park and the Lower Park.

Plow art

That's where we found the main entrance to Itatiaia National Park, visitor center, 3 waterfalls and 2 natural pools:

- Blue Lake

NEasy to reach, it's ideal for diving with the little ones with a beautiful natural pool! That's where we stayed the longest.
The walk begins near the visitor center, where we descend a 124-step staircase and we walked a few more meters to the emerald green natural pool of the Campo Belo River.

We also found a very small strip of sand where our son played for a while.

 - Maromba swimming pool

Easy level, located in the Maromba Complex, 800 m from the visitor center, As soon as you reach the Maromba bridge, you have to walk another 170 m to the Maromba natural pool.
A little cooler than the Blue Lake and incredibly green! Great for swimming and diving, it's the largest swimming area in the lower part of the park.

- Bridal Veil Waterfall

Easy level, also is located in the Maromba Complex, 800 m from the visitor center, as soon as we reached the maromba bridge we must walk a trail of 380 m, but to the other side.
Ebetween stairs and climbs we walked along a quiet trail with the little one, until we reached lindthe Véu da Noiva waterfall.

- Itaporani Waterfall.

Easy level, also is located in the Maromba Complex, 800 m from the visitor center, as soon as we reached the maromba bridge we must walk a trail of 640 m, in the same direction as the Veil of the Bride trail.

Ne didn't do this trail because we found it too tiring to go with the little one.

- Poranga Waterfall

Easy level, also is located in the Maromba Complex, 800 m from the visitor center, and another 400 m of trail to the waterfall.
We didn't visit this waterfall either.

What are National Parks?

These are conservation units whose main objective is the preservation of natural ecosystems.
They must be publicly owned and managed by ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation).
In addition to being an Autarchy linked to the Ministry of the Environment.

In these National Parks there are opportunities for scientific research, environmental education and interpretation, recreation in contact with nature and ecological tourism.

Remember, National Parks are places of preservation!

You can't:

- Build a fire
- Entering with pets
- Writing on stones, trees, posts, buildings and signs
- Promoting religious or political demonstrations
- Use soap or shampoo
- Feeding or capturing wild animals
- Using a stereo or producing noise pollution
- Throwing garbage on the ground

CAUTION!!!

Always check the weather, as there are chances of water heads.
OK! But what are water heads?

These are floods in the riverbed that occur suddenly, caused by heavy rain in the headwaters!
Always ask at the entrance to Itatiaia National Park about the forecast and conditions for the head of water.

Often the climate you see in the lower part is different from the upper part, where the headlands are.

Water heads usually occur more frequently during the rainy season, from December to March.

Weather

As the Itatiaia National Park covers altitudes between 540 and 2,790 meters, the climate varies greatly. Especially between the lower and upper parts.

December to March

It's summer time, so temperatures are usually higher.
Usually at higher temperatures, it also ends up being the time for heavy rain showers.
While temperatures can drop sharply in the Upper Zone, they stay around 20º and 28ºC in the Lower Zone.
Thunderstorms are common in both regions and can result in water heads in the Lower Town.

June to September

Winter is all about colder temperatures, but the record is set in July, when temperatures often fall below zero degrees, with frequent frosts in the upper part of the country.
In the Lower Town, temperatures vary between 10 and 25ºC

March to June and September to December

During the fall and spring, temperatures are mild in both the Lower and Upper Towns.
There are no sudden climatic variations, and the months are the most stable of the year.

How to get there

Lower part

Coming from Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo, you should take the Rodovia Presidente Dutra (BR-116) to Itatiaia (Exit 318) and then go another 5.5 km along the BR-485 to the park gate.

Upper part

From Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo, leave the Dutra highway at Engenheiro passos (exit 330A), following the BR-354 highway for 26km to Garganta do Registro and another 14km of dirt road along Rodovia das Flores to Posto Marcão, which gives access to the main attractions in the Upper Part.

From Belo Horizonte, take the Fernão Dias highway and the BR-381 highway, passing through Caxambu and following the BR-354 highway to Garganta do Registro for the upper part, or following the Dutra highway for the lower part.

Ticket price for Itatiaia National Park

General public R$33,00
Brazilians R$ 17,00
Mercosur R$25,00
Children under 12 and over 60 are free

Payment is by cash only

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