Southeast Region
State of São Paulo

São Paulo is one of the four states of Brazil's Southeast region. Its area of 250.000 square kilometers corresponds to approximately half of the size of Spain. With 11 million inhabitants (19 million in the Greater São Paulo area), its capital, the city of São Paulo, is the largest metropolitan area in the southern hemisphere.

The State of São Paulo contains the largest quantity of Atlantic Rainforest / (Mata Atlântica) in Brazil of which about 900.000 hectars are fully protected by about 35 conservation units (see map).

Of particular ecotouristic interest are the São Paulo City Green Belt Biosphere Reserve containing the state parks Cantareira and Serra do Mar, the northern section of the Southeast Reserves World Heritage Site including the Ecological Continuum and Speleological Province Upper Ribeira Valley / Paranapiacaba (ex. Carlos Botelho, Intervales and PETAR), the northern portion of the so-called Lagamar Complex (Juréia - Itatins, Ilha do Cardoso and Pariquera - Abaixo) such as the state park Campos do Jordão in the Mantiqueira mountain range, the coastal island of Ilhabela and the Serra da Bocaina National Park.

See also: São Paulo - Rio de Janeiro