Itatiaia National Park
Itatiaia is the oldest national park in Brazil. The park was founded on June 14, 1937 on the basis of Federal Decree 1713, signed by President Jetuliu Vargas. Currently, the area of the park is about 300 km2.
Itatiaia Park is located in a mountainous area at the junction of the states of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, on its territory there are some of the highest mountain peaks in Brazil. Because of this, the park has a rich and diverse flora and fauna, as well as a wide variety of climates. The park is located in the Serra da Mantiqueira mountain range, the highest point of the park, Agulhas Negras, is located at an altitude of 2,878 m above sea level. The very name of the Brazilian park is Itatiaya, which translates to "rocks with a lot of dots," and it comes from the Tupi language.
The highest sections of the Itatiaia National Park are strewn with giant boulders, transformed over millions of years by rain and wind into strange man-made sculptures. Streams murmur through the meadows here, turning into fast, clear rivers in the warm forests below, sometimes ending in waterfalls. There are a lot of monkeys in the trees around. Curious brown capuchins are often found. Less common are the charming, timid titi masked monkeys, a species on the verge of extinction. The park has a very rich world of birds, with up to 350 species, many of them endangered. The park plays an important role in their conservation of rare species. Bright seven-colored and black-and-gold bell ringers and toucans flutter in the air, and the voices of dozens of songbirds ring sullenly in the early morning. A toucan is a bright bird that looks like a toy come to life. The length of its body is 56 cm, the length of its beak is 22 cm. With his giant beak, he finishes off fruits and catches small animals. The toucan can toss the fruit up with its beak so that it falls directly into the open throat.
On weekends, Itatiaya Park is crowded, Brazilians splash in numerous waterfalls, so the animals hide. However, on weekdays the park is quiet and peaceful. The park is open to tourists and is divided into two territories, an upper and a lower one. The entrance to the lower territory is located directly near the town of Itatiaia. There is an information center with a museum on the lower territory. The upper area is not connected to the lower road, and is accessible through another entrance. From the top of the territory begins the trail for climbing Agulhas Negras.
