Brazil Tours

Brazil Tours / São Paulo - The Intervales State Park is an integral protection conservation unit of the Atlantic Rainforest South-East Reserves World Heritage Site and Mata Atlântica Biosphere Reserve in the State of São Paulo. The park is located in the Paranapiacaba mountain range / upper Ribeira Valley, 270 km southeast of the capital (see map).

Intervales, which was formerly a farm where palm heart (palmito juçara) was explored (see history), is inserted between the state parks of Carlos Botelho in the northeast and PETAR in the southwest. The park entry is controlled by the headquarter in Ribeirão Grande and 6 additional active bases (4 bases were burnt down) (see zoning).

According to the park's management plan, of all the species that have been identified in the Atlantic Rainforest, 15% of the amphibians (101), 19% of the reptiles (44), 36% of the birds (376) and 34% of the mammals (121), occurr in the Intervales State Park. The main threat to this fauna diversity are the illegal extraction of palm heart, hunting and mining.

From a social - cultural angle, there live several descendants of African slaves (quilombolas) and little agriculture communities (ribeirinhos) in the proximity of Intervales State Park. The indigenous village (Peguao-Ty), close to the Quilombo base, is home to about 20 Guarani families with approximately 90 people.

The main ecotouristic attraction of Intervales, which is also part of São Paulo's Speleological Province, is its karstic landscape, with variable elevations between 650 and 1.000 meters. The limestone layer which comprises approximately 6% of the northeastern park area encloses 85 caves, among them the Gruta dos Paiva, which, with an extent of 3.700 m, is registered among Brazil's 50 largest caves.

Currently, the park visit is limited to the trails around its headquarter in Ribeirão Grande. For the future, other trails to waterfalls and viewpoints in the proximity of the eastern bases of the park (Quilombo, Saibadela and Guapiruvu), are projected.

See also: Trails / Tours / Photos