History of Brazil

Intervales Tours / History - Artifical watercourse bypasses in form of round - shaped stone structures (so-called encanados), in and around the Intervales State Park, testify the presence of bandeirantes and other gold explorers, during colonial Brazil.

In 1950, the Companhia de Incremento Rural do Altiplano Paulista (CIRAP) tried to implement an agriculture project in the region. According to narrations of former employees, they lost their land to Banco do Estado de São Paulo (Banespa) because they were unable to repay a loan, they received from the bank.

During the next 40 years, Banespa explored timber, minerals and primarily palm heart on the ranch which at that time was called Fazenda Oriente. At Monte Rosa, a hill which nowadays hides the Colorida cave, a little village with a resident population of 300 people was installed.At the beginning of the 80's, a factory was installed (nowadays workshops) which during two years produced between 10 and 15 thousand palm heart cans per month. At the same time, more than 13 million palm heart seeds were replanted.

In 1987, the ranch was acquired by the Fundação Florestal of São Paulo, the palm heart factory was shut down and the 65 employees were transfered to the work force of Fundação Florestal. About 40 of them still work until today as environmental guides. In 1995, Fazenda Intervales became state park.

Source: Plano de Manejo Parque Estadual de Intervales

See also: Trails & Tours