Brazil Eco Adventure Tours
Rainforest - Hiking & Biking - Wildlife

Ilha Grande

The Ilha Grande and Marinho do Aventureiro state parks such as the Praia Sul biological reserve are Integral Protection Conservation Units of the Mata Atlântica Biosphere Reserve in the state of Rio de Janeiro (see map).

The largest island of Rio de Janeiro state (193 square kilometers), with access only by boat, is located in the oriental terrain of the northern Ribeira belt. The core of the island is formed by Precambrian granites with peaks above 1.000 m, which posterior to the collisions of the Neoproterozoic Brasiliano - Pan African orogenic cycle, intruded the surrounding, softer charnokite rocks.

These igneous intrusive rocks (also called plutons) cooled and crystallized deep below the Earth's surface (10 - 20 km). Erosion and tectonics, during the last 500 million years, brought them up to the Earth's surface and made them visible to us. They are nowadays covered by dense submontane and montane tropical rainforest.

Some ruins, partly covered by the lush vegetation of the Atlantic rainforest, remember Ilha Grande's dark history as a shelter for pirates, a center for contraband slave trade, a quarantine hospital and a high securitiy penitentiary. During the last years, Ilha Grande with its 106 beaches, 14 bays, 4 lakes, 10 rivers and 3 grottos, has become one of the most visited ecotourism locations in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Several rainforest trails take the hiker to the most isolated places of the island.

See also: guided tours

Location: S 23º 10’ / W 44º 15’

Total Area: 5.594 ha

Altitude: 0 - 1.031 m

Climate: Af

Biome: Mata Atlântica

Ecosystems: Tropical Rainforest

Altitudinal Zones: Alluvial / Lowland / Submontane / Montane

Peaks: Pedra d’Água (1.031 m)
Pico do Papagaio (959 m)