The pride of the National Park “Aparados de Serra” is the Itaimbezinho canyon, which must be considered one of the most impressive natural formations in all of South Brazil, probably only the Iguazu Falls can be put ahead of it. In addition, there is no shortage of Itaimbezinho waterfalls, as this 720-meter-deep canyon was created by two rivers and two powerful water cascades. The height of both waterfalls is impressive, and besides, they really beautify the photos of the canyon – “Cachoeira Veu de Noiva” or the Bridal Veil waterfall is 288 meters long, while “Cachoeira Andorinhas” or the Swallow’s waterfall is even higher, reaching the 400-meter mark, and shares the first place in Brazil. in the list of the highest cascades.
The second national park called “Serra Geral” is almost a mirror of the first one, because there are also several canyons in its territory, one of which (Canyon Fortaleza) stands out from the rest. It is interesting that two gigantic cascades fall gracefully in the Fortaleza canyon. One of them – “Cachoeira do Tigre Preto” or Black Tiger Waterfall – is currently measured as about 400 meters high, thus sharing the honor of the highest waterfall in Brazil with the previously mentioned “Cachoeira Andorinhas”. Although Itaimbezinho Canyon is more advertised and landscaped, I found Fortaleza Canyon perhaps even more impressive – not only is it 900 meters deep, but it also has a wilder feel to it, with no landscaped viewing platforms with ledges. So untouched and primal by man.
These two canyons are so powerful in terms of height that two completely opposite ecosystems prevail here – at around 1,000 meters altitude, the cloud forest habitat typical of mountain areas, and below, the subtropical rain forest found in the lowlands. It turns out that on the high plateaus and canyons of Southern Brazil, such peculiar araucarias, or, more precisely, narrow-leaved araucarias, are found only in the south of Brazil and, to a lesser extent, in the northeastern part of Argentina. I’ve always wondered where these rare, exotic, and umbrella-like trees that have been seen a few times in botanical gardens grow. Now I will know the answer. The narrow-leaved araucaria is often also called the Parana pine or Brazilian pine, but its huge nuts are usually only allowed to be picked by the local Indians, for whom it has been an important source of livelihood for centuries.
“Brazilian Disneyland” – Gramado
If Cambara do Sul, with a population of 6,500 people, resembled the deep countryside with a couple of self-catering hotels to accommodate the few tourists who have come to explore the great canyons of Southern Brazil, then my next destination, the city of Gramado, is the complete opposite, with new, modern hotels, high-end restaurants and various entertainment venues. and attractions. It feels like an exclusive Bavarian or Swiss Alpine resort, and I mean that literally, as the town was founded and built by German immigrants almost a century and a half ago. Several buildings here are built in the Bavarian style with half-timbered elements, but the city’s main church and town hall look like they were stolen from an Austrian mountain town.
Gramado is a clear example of how local tourism developers should work. Three decades ago, it was an ordinary mountain town where a local tourist wandered into while visiting the nearby waterfall (Cascata do Caracol) in transit. At the beginning of the 90s, the miniature park “Mini Mundo” with models of famous buildings from all over the world was opened here, then followed “Mundo a Vapor” or the Steam Museum with a locomotive that passed through the second floor of the building, and the end of the bag was open, everyone started to build some kind of amusement parks, medieval castles, gardens, chocolate workshops, themed restaurants and entertainment museums, thus transforming Gramado into a kind of Brazilian Disneyland and an elegant mountain resort in three decades.
Now it hosts important events, such as one of the most prestigious film festivals on the South American continent and the main Christmas festival in Brazil. Gramado quickly caught on to the idea of being the home of Brazil’s main Christmas celebration. A Christmas village with a market and decorated booths, a big festival, as well as Santa Claus, or as the locals call it, “Papa Noil” house-museum, were created here. Thus, almost the entire wealthy part of Brazil goes to Gramado to celebrate Christmas, but the city builds hotels and restaurants to accommodate the relentless flow of Brazilians who usually come here to rest for several days or even a week. I have only stopped in Gramado for a day, in transit to the airport, with the main purpose of seeing the “Canela Skyglass” park and the already mentioned waterfall (Cascata do Caracol), which tumbles down from a 130-meter high cliff, revealing a mighty panorama. “Canela Skyglass”, on the other hand, is a sliding glass bridge that hangs over one of the bends of the Cai River – the locals even advertise that this is the largest glass platform in the world, which I doubt, because it seems that the Chinese have already trumped it, but this does not change the fact , that the view over the ring-shaped valley is quite impressive and the glass floor, through which you can clearly see the great fall below, makes it much more interesting.
Time to go back to Rio de Janeiro to get to know something new in the vicinity of this famous metropolis and conclude the adventure of the unknown Brazil.
Rio de Janeiro – “Heart of Samba land” between jungle, ocean and granite peaks
Copacabana Beach, the statue of Christ, Sugar Loaf Mountain, the “Sambadrome” arena, where the famous carnival takes place, and the football temple – Maracana Stadium: these world-famous names are symbols not only of Rio de Janeiro, but of the whole of Brazil.
The long trip to explore Brazil has reached the finish line, arriving in perhaps the most beautiful city on earth – Rio de Janeiro. In what other city in the world can you find tropical rainforests rich with magnificent birds and animals, white sand beaches, idyllic ocean coves and picturesque granite mountains with various contours? Cape Town may still be able to keep up, but that’s about it; the rest of the world’s metropolises can only sigh in envy. The fact that Rio de Janeiro has the most beautiful urban backdrop in the world is nothing new. It seems that everyone has seen those postcards on the Internet, but what many have missed is the cultural and historical value of the Brazilian metropolis.
Pictures with white concrete blocks placed between granite mountains give a false impression – Rio is not a new city, in fact it is the place where Brazil began to form under Portuguese rule at the very beginning of the 16th century. Rio de Janeiro, which translates as “January River”, was the capital of the colony for almost the entire period of Portuguese rule, for a while it was even the main center of the Portuguese Empire and later the capital of the Brazilian Empire. Therefore, it is no wonder that hidden among the “concrete jungle” are historical pockets with elegant opera and theater houses, churches and monasteries shining in gold, which are often missed by travelers dazzled by Rio’s natural beauty.
