Serra da Cantareira Park – Mairiporã - São Paulo, Brazil

São Paulo, which has about 11 million inhabitants, more than 240 thousand stores, 90 museums, among many other surprises by Metropolitan attractions have one of the largest urban forest in the world: Serra da Cantareira. The region is the city's biosphere reserve under Unesco. Ali, 10 Km from the Centre of the capital, is the Parque Estadual Serra da Cantareira, located in Mairipora city, with an area equivalent to eight thousand football fields of rainforest.

The visitor to go through the site, besides glimpse of natural attractions as the only species of pine native to Brazil, giant ferns and more than 200 kinds of animals, you'll learn more about the history of the region. The very name "Cantareira" was adopted because of the large presence of muleteers between the 16th and 17th centuries who guarded its pitchers of water in mobile called "cantareiras". At the end of the 19th century was built a bomb to help supply the city and today she is one of the Park's historic items. The water is still one of the highlights of space, since some trails go through rivers and waterfalls.

The site is divided into clusters, with four of them are open to visitation: big stone, Engordador, clear waters and Cabuçu. The big stone was the first to be open to the public, and today is one of the most recommended the common visitor. Your account, including with Amphitheater. Has five trails relatively easy to be travelled and with his biggest differentiators explained in names: Big Stone Trail (9.6 Km), da Bica (1.5 Km), Bugio (500 m) and the fig (1 Km). Animals, mainly monkeys, can be seen during the hiking, besides lush landscape. Other great attractions are Carp Lake, which has playground, and the Mirante da Pedra Grande with 1,010 m where, on a clear day, you can see the Serra do Mar.

The second core opened to the public was Engordador. The space has this name because the muleteers who came from Minas Gerais and Goiás stopped in the region for which the livestock is exhausting and recover from the trip could be marketed in a fair that existed at the time, where today is the region of light. This core is possible through the waterfall trails (3 Km), solitary Tinamous (650 m) waterfall (3.4 Km) and Mountain Bike (4 Km). It also has the visitor center, where you can see monkeys, lizards and various bird stuffed, nursery seedling production and the dam of Engordador.

The core of Águas Claras can also receive visitors and it has the tracks Fern-Açu (1.5 Km), water (500 m) and the Puma (1.9 Km), which makes connection with the core of Large Stone. The newest is Cabuçu, which has four tracks: Ocelot (1 Km), Tapeti (250 m), Marmoset (730 m) waterfall (5.2 Km).

To find properties in Mairipora, Serra da Cantareira, click in imoveis em mairipora.

Is not allowed:

-Any activity with fire;

-Entry of pets;

-Sports with ball, roller skates and skate;

-Bicycles only in mountain bike trail, in the core Engordador and with helmet use;

-Motor vehicles;

-Input appliances/sound instruments;

-Kites;

-Swimming in reservoirs and lakes.

Service:

Parque Estadual Serra da Cantareira
Rua do Horto, 799 - Horto Florestal - Sao Paulo, Brazil

Phone: + 55 11 3266-2203

Opening hours: until 30/01/2010 from Tuesday to Friday, from 8 am to 5 pm. Beginning in February only to weekends and holidays

Price: US$ 2