Serra da Graciosa and Parque Nacional Marumbi in Brazil
Serra da Graciosa and Parque Nacional Marumbi
Ins and outs
The Estrada da Graciosa road passes through Morretes, and there are numerous daily buses from Curitiba and Paranaguá. The train stops here too, for a lunch break. There are a handful of pousadas and numerous restaurants serve the local speciality, barreado (meat stew cooked in a clay pot), which was originally served a day in advance of Carnaval in order to allow women to escape from their domestic cooking chores and enjoy the party.
The town itself is tiny and easily negotiated on foot. A series of walks lead from the town into the Serra da Graciosa mountains. The most popular trails run to the Salto dos Macacos and Salto da Fortuna waterfalls, which take between three and four hours there and back from town. Walks can be organized through Calango Expedições.
Antonina, just 14 km from Morretes, is almost as picturesque and sits on the Bahia do Paranaguá. It was once an important port town but is now sleepy and little visited, except during the lively Carnaval. It can be reached by local bus from Morretes.
When the first European ships arrived at Paraná in the mid-16th century, they would have been daunted by the prospect of conquering the lands of southern Brazil. From the sea, the thickly forested and steep crags of the
Serra da Graciosa
must have seemed an insurmountable wall fortifying the continent from the coast. But in a cruel twist of fate, it was native trails cutting through the mountains that led to inland Paraná being colonized. After the paths were discovered, the Portuguese forced African slaves to pave them with river stones. Miners and traders were soon dragging mules laden with gold, silver, textiles and
herva maté
up and down the mountains. As trade grew, the port at Paranaguá became the most important south of Santos and little towns of whitewashed churches and smart Portuguese buildings like Morretes and Antonina grew up along the trails. In 1885 the routes were busy enough to merit the construction of a railway, which wound its way around the slopes, across rushing rivers and through the forest to the sea.
Two roads and a railway run from Curitiba to Paranaguá. The railway journey remains the most spectacular in Brazil, cutting through numerous tunnels, crossing dizzy viaducts (especially imported from Belgium), offering sudden views of deep gorges and high peaks and waterfalls before arriving at the sea. Near Banhado station (Km 66) is the waterfall of
Véu da Noiva
, and from the Marumbi station at Km 59 you can reach the Marumbi mountain range.
The principal trail (Estrada Da Graciosa) between Curitiba and Paranaguá is now a spectacular cobbled road that runs for 15 km through the mountains and the Marumbi national park. There are fire grills, shelters and camping at the various rest stops. You can also hike the original mule trail,which follows the road and passes the rest stops; trails leave from just outside Morretes railway station and are well signposted. Take food, water and plenty of insect repellent.
Morretes, Antonina and aroundMorretes
was founded in 1721 and is one of the prettiest colonial towns in southern Brazil. A parade of whitewashed Portuguese colonial buildings with painted window frames straddle the pebbly river, and church spires stick up from a sea of red-tiled roofs against the backdrop of the deep-green forest-swathed hills.The Estrada da Graciosa road passes through Morretes, and there are numerous daily buses from Curitiba and Paranaguá. The train stops here too, for a lunch break. There are a handful of pousadas and numerous restaurants serve the local speciality, barreado (meat stew cooked in a clay pot), which was originally served a day in advance of Carnaval in order to allow women to escape from their domestic cooking chores and enjoy the party.
The town itself is tiny and easily negotiated on foot. A series of walks lead from the town into the Serra da Graciosa mountains. The most popular trails run to the Salto dos Macacos and Salto da Fortuna waterfalls, which take between three and four hours there and back from town. Walks can be organized through Calango Expedições.
Antonina, just 14 km from Morretes, is almost as picturesque and sits on the Bahia do Paranaguá. It was once an important port town but is now sleepy and little visited, except during the lively Carnaval. It can be reached by local bus from Morretes.
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This is edited copy from Footprint Handbooks. For comprehensive details (incl address, tel no, directions, opening times and prices) please refer to book or individual chapter PDF
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