Parque Estadual Cantareira – Tremembé, Brazil - Atlas Obscura

Parque Estadual Cantareira

Tremembé, Brazil

One of the world's largest urban rainforests with a spectacular panorama of Sao Paulo city and monkeys awaits visitors  

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 Several trails wind through the forest of Cantareira with some reaching a waterfall , several small ponds or various points of scenic beauty where panoramas of the surrounding landscape can be appreciated.  

Towards the top of the park lies the famous “Pedra grande” (“The big stone”) , a gigantic and climbable boulder which looks out across both the forest and the distant urban jungle of Sao Paulo city. The view from the rock offers a spectacular (Perhaps unsettling) panorama of both the forest and the encroaching city and highlights the striking contrast of dizzying modernity with the ancient calm of the imperiled Atlantic rainforest.

Cantareira is also an ideal spot to do birdwatching and many strikingly coloured and named species of bird can be seen here relatively easily if you bring binoculars and scan the surrounding trees. Some of these attractive avians include the green beaked toucan, the plain parakeet, the brassy breasted tanager , the surucua trogon and the blue manakin. 

The State Park is also home to many mammal species the most visible and charismatic to be seen here are undoubtedly the primates. Several species of monkey can be observed relatively easily by the visiting public including the black capped capuchin monkey, the brown howler monkey, the black fronted titi monkey, the black tufted marmoset and the common marmoset ( These particular marmosets are not actually native to Sao Paulo state and are in fact an invasive / introduced species). 

Know Before You Go

 Cantareira park can be reached easily from Sao Paulo city using public transport. To do so simply take the blue line on the metro to the station "Tucuruvi" and from here take a bus to the "Jardim das Pedras" neighbourhood.  From here it is a mere ten minute walk to the park's entrance. 


The entrance to the park costs $16 Reias and it is open Tuesday to Sunday from 8 am to 6 pm. There are toilets and facilities where you can refill water bottles and obtain information from park staff which are located at the entrance and near the pedra grande site.


As stated by the numerous signs dotted around it is best to stick to the marked trails as there are some dangers in the park including (but not limited to) spiders, scorpions and venemous snakes. 


Despite the temptation and their insistence please don't feed the monkeys or coatis as human foods are not healthy for them and lead to their unhelpful habituation to people. 


 

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