Peak Prateleiras mountain in Itatiaia National Park, Brazil

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Parque Nacional do Itatiaia

Top choice in Rio de Janeiro State


Brazil’s oldest national park, Itatiaia shelters a stunning variety of landscapes, from dense rainforests to spare and rugged upland peaks. Most visitors head for the park's more accessible lower section, where numerous short trails lead through lush greenery to waterfalls and natural swimming holes. Serious hikers and climbers find endless excitement in Itatiaia's wild, remote high country, reached by a tortuous unpaved road, while nature lovers relish the park's abundant flora and fauna, from orchids to monkeys to tropical birds.