The search for new paths in regions where cities develop ecological tourism projects has contributed to recovering the Atlantic Forest’s vegetation, allowing animals to return to their natural environment.
All this work is gaining more and more support, and in addition to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Caminho da Mata Atlântica, the local population is also getting involved.
They participate in meetings where the region to be visited is determined to see if another trail can be built there.
Preserving ancient flora and hiking trails amidst the lush rainforest are becoming attractions for ecotourism around Guanabara Bay, which washes Rio de Janeiro.
The Três Picos (Three Peaks) Natural Park trails, which run through the Atlantic Forest, offer a different attraction than Rio’s famous beaches and monuments.
These trails lead to the imposing pink Jequitibá, a huge tree that is 40 meters tall, six meters in diameter, and estimated to be between 800 and 1,000 years old, making it one of the oldest trees in Brazil.
It is one of the few specimens of its species that have escaped the destruction and indiscriminate exploitation of its wood.
Activities that have made the Atlantic Forest the most threatened ecosystem in Brazil.
This region near Rio now wants to attract ecotourism to promote “initiatives with a positive impact” on local communities and the hotel network, explained Thiago Valente, project manager of the Grupo Boticário Foundation, which develops sustainable projects in the region.
A few kilometers away is a good example of an environmental management project: the Guapiaçú Ecological Reserve.
A former cattle ranch has been reforested with more than 720,000 trees and is now home to a large nursery with various native plant and animal species.
The old farm has become a haven for capybaras, ducks, cormorants, and herons that cross the marked trails.
There are viewpoints, a hostel for overnight guests, and a biological research center with students from around the country.
British-born Nicholas Locke is the great-grandson of the property’s former owners and the founder of the environmental reserve.
He explains that he wants to “revitalize” the region according to the principles of “conservation of species” that have lost their habitat and “water security” in this area, which is one of Rio de Janeiro’s main water sources.
4,000 KILOMETERS LONG PATH
Mangroves and waterfalls are also preserved in the Guanabara Bay trail network, part of the “Caminho da Mata Atlântica” (Atlantic Forest Way).
A gigantic 4,000-kilometer trail that connects Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil with Rio de Janeiro.
The trail network passes through mountains, forests, indigenous territories, beaches, and islands in five states and connects a hundred nature reserves.
“The potential of these regions is enormous, and one of the main objectives is to valorize local production chains linked to ecotourism and create ecological restoration references along the route,” explains Chico Schnoor, national coordinator of the project.
DOLPHINS, MANGROVES, AND HISTORY
Another natural paradise in the region is the Guapimirim Environmental Protection Area (APA), considered one of the best preserved in the country.
Features from the colonial era are still preserved in the mangroves.
One of the natural spectacles is the flight of the “biguatingas,” or pintail ducks, and the gray dolphins.
The Manguezal Fluminense Cooperative, founded by artisanal fishermen, conducts environmental education with crab collectors and ecotourism in the area.
Fisherman Alaildo Malafaia, president of the cooperative, stressed that Guanabara Bay still generates “a lot of income” without destroying the bay’s beauty, which is still unknown to a large part of the urban population.
Among the historical sites of Guapimirim is the century-old chapel of San Francisco de Croará, which marks the beginning of the Jesuit expeditions in Brazil in the 17th and the traces of the oldest railroad company in Latin America, inaugurated in 1854.