Travel to Brazil

Brazil / Travel & Tours - Monte Pascoal National Park is an integral protection conservation unit of the Atlantic Rainforest Discovery Coast UNESCO World Heritage Site which is part of the Mata Atlântica Biosphere Reserve in the state of Bahia. The symbol of Brazil's discovery is located 50 km south of Porto Seguro. Tours start from Itamaraju.

According to the letter from Pêro Vaz de Caminha, the secretary of Pedro Álvares Cabral's squadron, to Portuguese King D. Manuel I, Mount Pascoal (Easter Mountain) was the first sign of land that the Portuguese explorer sighted on April 22nd 1500, before making their first landfall in the new world.

Around 1000 B.C., a long time before the official discovery of Brazil, the land in the extreme south of Bahia state was inhabited by the predecessors of the Pataxó Indians (Branch: Macro - Jê; Families: Botocudos, Puri, Kamakã, Maxakalí). During the fifth century, they were expelled to the country's interior by the Tupiniquim Indians (Macro - Tupi) who were approaching from the south. After the extinction of the Tupiniquim by the Portuguese during the 16th century, the Pataxó, who belonged to the Maxakalí family returned to their former territories.

From the approximately 11.000 Pataxó Indians who nowadays live in South Bahia, about 5.000 of them live in 12 settlements (Barra Velha, Boca da Mata, Meio da Mata, Guaxuma, Trevo do Parque ...) of the Barra Velha reserve adjacent to the park area. Since 2001, the Monte Pascoal National Park is administered jointly by the Brazilian Environmental Institute (IBAMA) and the Pataxó Indians.

The main ecotourism attractions are actually limited to the contact with the Indians, an ecological hike to the top of Mount Pascoal (536 m) and a mountain bike ride from the park entrance to Barra Velha on the coast.

See also: Tour 4: Porto Seguro - Salvador / Photos