SOUTHEAST BRAZIL - Brazil - page 164

Iguape 8
* 28,000. @ n Preifetura Rua 15
de Novembro 272, [phone].
www .guiadeiguape.com.br

This pretty little colonial
town sits in a pocket of the
Brazilian coastal rainforest,
the Complexo Estuarino
Lagunar de Iguape-Cananéia-
Paranaguá, in the midst of
breathtaking scenery. The
verdant Serra do Mar mount-
ains rise up behind the town
which is surrounded by pris-
tine mangrove wetlands and
lowland subtropical forest on
all sides including the wilds of
the Estação Ecológico Juréia-
Itatins to the north. The
Mirante do Morro do Espio is
a lookout point with a fabu-
lous view of the port and
surrounding area.
Iguape was founded in 1538
by the Portuguese. No build-
ings remain from that time but
the city center preserves the
largest collection of post-17th-
century colonial architecture
in the state. Most are civic
buildings and town houses
painted in thick primary colors
and clustered around Praça
São Benedito , a sleepy central
square watched over by a
towering 18th-century basilica.
There are also two small
museums in the city center.
The Museu Histórico e
Arqueológico is housed in a
17th-century building which
was once the first gold
foundry in Brazil. It show-
cases a mixed bag of historical
material, from pre-Columbian
remains found in nearby
middens to artifacts from the
slaving era, and early

Striking hills in the Estação Ecológica Juréia-Itatins

Estação Ecológica
Juréia-Itatins 7
@ to Iguape, then taxi. n Av São
Pedro 189, Barra do Ribiera, Iguape,
[phone]. & 8

This is one of the most
important breeding grounds
for marine species in the
southern Atlantic and the
myriad forest types growing
here protect one of the
world's greatest diversities of
vascular plant, vertebrate and
invertebrate species. There
is a unique range of birds,
butterflies, and mammals.
Many larger animals, such as
jaguars and tapirs, which have
all but disappeared from
coastal Brazil, live in healthy
numbers here.
Juréia itself protects a wide
variety of habitats, as a result,
the scenery is magnificent.
Lush green forest swathes the
high slopes of the Serra do
Itatins in the eastern extremity
of the park and continues
all the way through to the
lowland coastal areas, mixing
with mangrove wetlands and
perfuming the park's extensive
beaches. These beautiful
stretches of fine sand, many of
which are cut by clear rivers
or washed by waterfalls, are
so deserted that caimans can
occasionally be seen basking
in the sun at dawn.

Brazil's coastal rainforest
stretches in a series of
rippling mountains and
lowland forests cut by broad
rivers, mangrove wetlands,
and pristine beaches all the
way through from Peruíbe
in southern São Paulo state
to Paranaguá in Paraná.
The Estação Ecológica Juréia-
Itatins sits at the northern
end of this rainforest, pro-
tecting 316 sq miles (820 sq
km) of Mata Atlântica.
Access to the ecological
station is restricted to daytime
visits only, and must be
arranged through the park
authorities in Iguape, just
south of Juréia-Itatins. Only
certain areas are open to the
public, and most of these
areas require prior permission
before entering. Iguape is a
good base for information
on organized tours.

Rio Ribeira do Iguape estuary and Igreja do Rosário rising over Iguape town

For hotels and restaurants in this region see p375 and p401