Brazil Eco Adventure Tours
Rainforest - Hiking & Biking - Wildlife

The Atlantic Rainforest / (Mata Atlântica) is the third largest brazilian biome that stretches for about 4.000 km along the Atlantic coast between Rio Grande do Norte and Rio Grande do Sul.

According to Conservation International, it belongs to the top 5 biodiversity hotspots on Earth. It contains the worlds second largest biosphere reserve and about 600 of the 900 Brazilian conservation units. The Atlantic Rainforest Southeast and Discovery Coast Reserves were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1999.

The exceptional biodiversity of the Atlantic Rainforest ecosystems is related to its geological history, its tropical and subtropical position, severe climate changes in the past and substantial altitudinal differences from sea level to almost 3.000 m. The coastal mountain chains Serra do Mar and Mantiqueira contain the highest peaks on the Atlantic side of the American continent. Additionally, coastal rainforests are significantly richer in biodiversity than inland ones (like the Amazon).

The flora and fauna diversity of the Atlantic Rainforest is breathtaking. It contains an estimated 250 species of mammals, 340 amphibians, 1.023 birds and approximately 20.000 trees.

Around half of the tree species and 80% of the primates are unique (endemic) to this hotspot. The spider monkey (or muriqui) at Carlos Botelho, the red-tailed amazon at Pariquera-Abaixo, the broad-snouted caiman at Ilha do Cardoso and the tucuxi dolphin in the coastal waters of Paraty and Ilha Grande are some examples for the variety of life forms in the Atlantic Rainforest. The site provides also an important refuge for jaguar and puma, the largest cats in the Western Hemisphere.

With more than 450 woody plant species/ hectare (100 x 100 m) in some spots, flora diversity is larger than in the Amazon. Its ecosystems, species composition and structure change with altitude soils, temperature and rainfall. Whereas the altitude fields above 1.800 m, as in Itatiaia are dominated by grasslands, the cloud forest formation between 1.000 - 1.800 m is characterized by low mist forest, such as the famous araucaria pine tree of Campos do Jordão. From 50 - 1.000 m occurs the submontane and montane rainforest with giant trees reaching 40 m in height, the endemic palm tree (Euterpe Edulis) and many epiphytes, such as ferns, orchids and bromeliads. At sea level (e.g. Lagamar - Complex), lowland rainforest mixed with pioneer formations such as restinga, mangrove and caixetais occur.

The Speleological Province Upper Ribeira Valley / Paranapiacaba, including the state parks PETAR, Intervales and Jacupiranga shelter the largest number of karst caves known to exist in Brazil (300) and the granitic massifs of Serra dos Órgãos and Marumbi offer climbers some of the countries most challenging rock formations. Additional to its natural beauty the Atlantic Rainforest hides some significant cultural sites such as the historic gold trail at Serra da Bocaina, the pre-historic sambaquis at Superagüi and the caiçara cultures at Juréia - Itatins, Ilhabela or Juatinga.

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