Parque Nacional de Aparados da Serra

Parque Nacional de Aparados da Serra

The Aparados da Serra National Park, established in 1959, lies 66km/41mi north-east of São Francisco de Paula (reached by way of the Cambará road). The park occupies an area of 12,033 hectares/29,722 acres in the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. It gets its name from the apartados, the steeply scarped rock walls of the Serra Geral which extend almost to the coastal town of Torres. Here one of the largest areas of araucaria (parana pine) forest in Brazil, with trees over 40m/130ft high, has been preserved. Shooting in the park is prohibited in order to protect the local fauna (ocelots, otters, tapirs, deer, hares, etc.). The best time to visit the park is in winter (May-August), in