Marumbi and the surrounding mountain groups form part of the
southern
Ribeira Belt
(
Mantiqueira Province).
Their granitic massifs were formed through
alkaline granitoid magmatism during the post - collisional (550 - 500 Ma) stages
of the
Neoproterozoic
Brasiliano - Pan African orogenic cycle
and emplaced along the Pien fault zone which separates the
Archean
granulites of the Luís Alves craton and the Neoproterozoic
gneisses
of the Curitiba Microplate.
Due to its granite rock walls, Marumbi has evolved to the main rock climbing area in Paraná
and together with
Serra dos Órgãos
in
Rio de Janeiro,
one of the most popular in Brazil.
Three (steep) hiking trails lead through the
submontane,
montane and
high - montane
tropical rainforest
of Marumbi State Park to Olimpo (1.547 m), the park's highest peak.
There are also three historic hiking trails that descend from the Curitiba plateau
to the coastal
lowlands:
Arraial, Itupava and Graciosa.
In former times, these trails were used by
Indians, Jesuits and
Bandeirantes in order to transport gold, precious stones and later coffee to
the port of Paranaguá. Further hiking trails explore some of the exuberant waterfalls in the region
such as Roseira, Véu da Noiva or Salto dos Macacos.
Pico do Marumbi State Park can be reached by a historic train from Curitiba, which is considered one of
the most exciting in Brazil.
Leaving from Curitiba at an altitude of 900 meters, the train descends a steep mountainside to the coastal
lowlands.
The 110-km track goes through 13 tunnels and crosses 67 bridges. The view below is sublime and,
depending on the cloud formations and tone of the sunlight, often surreal: threatening mountain canyons,
tropical rainforest and the vast, blue Atlantic.
