São Paulo - Parque do Carmo

The main feature of Itaquera is the Parque do Carmo, one of the largest open spaces in São Paulo. The park, established in 1976 on the old Fazenda do Carmo, has an area of 1.5sq.km/370 acres, making it comparable in size with Ibirapuera Park. It contains children's playgrounds, street traders' stalls, an amphitheatre and five lakes (one of them with three islands) inhabited by ducks and geese. The Festa da Cerejeira (Cherry Blossom Festival), a celebration of Japanese origin, is held in the park in July. The paths which run through the park lead into unspoiled areas of woodland in which 210 species of plants, including ten different kinds of cherry-tree, have been recorded. The cherry-trees were introduced into Brazil in 1977, when the country's Japanese colonies celebrated the 70th anniversary of their arrival in Brazil.

The Carmo Park lies on Avenida Afonso de Sampaio e Souza (Rua da Fazenda) and can be reached by way of the streets following the banks of the Rio Tietà, the Radial Leste (East Radial Road) and Avenida Aricanduva.