By André Coelho |
Rio de Janeiro (EFE).- The preservation of an ancient flora and the walks along trails in the middle of the exuberant tropical forest seek to become attractions for ecological tourism in the surroundings of the Guanabara Bay, which bathes Rio de Janeiro.
The trails of the Tres Picos Natural Park, which run through the Atlantic Forest, offer a very different appeal from the famous beaches and monuments of Rio.
These paths lead to the imposing pink jequitibá, a huge tree 40 meters high, six in diameter and estimated to be between 800 and 1,000 years old, making it one of the oldest in Brazil.
It is one of the few specimens of its species that escaped devastation and the indiscriminate use of its wood.
Activities that have made the Atlantic Forest the most threatened ecosystem in Brazil.
This region near Rio now seeks to attract ecotourism, to “promote initiatives with a positive impact” on local communities and the hotel network, Thiago Valente, project manager of the Grupo Boticário foundation, which develops sustainable projects in the area, told EFE. .
Livestock gives way to preservation
A few kilometers away, there is a good example of an environmental management project: the ecological reserve of Guapiaçú, a place where an old farm dedicated to cattle raising has been reforested with more than 720,000 trees, to currently house a large nursery with various native species of flora and fauna.
The old farm has become a refuge for capybaras, ducks, cormorants and herons that cross the marked trails.
And that they have viewpoints, an inn for those who want to spend the night and a biological research center with students from all over the country.
British Nicholas Locke is the great-grandson of the former owners of the hacienda and founder of the environmental reserve.
He explains that his desire is to “revitalize” the region under the principles of “preservation of species” that have lost their habitat and “water security” in this area, which is one of the main sources of water in Rio de Janeiro.
4,000 kilometer trail
The mangroves and waterfalls are also preserved within the Guanabara Bay trail network and are part of the Camino de la Mata Atlántica.
A gigantic 4,000 kilometer path that connects Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil, to Rio de Janeiro.
The artery of roads passes through mountains, forests, indigenous territories, beaches and islands of five states, uniting a hundred environmental conservation units.
“The potential of these regions is enormous and one of the main objectives is to give value to local production chains linked to ecotourism and create references for ecological restoration along the route,” says Chico Schnoor, national coordinator of the Camino de la Mata Atlántica project.
Dolphins, mangroves and history
Another haven of nature in the area is the Guapimirim Environmental Protection Area (APA), considered one of the best preserved in the country.
Where its mangroves still retain characteristics similar to those of the colonial period.
One of the natural spectacles is the flight of the biguatingas or needled ducks and the gray dolphins hunting swarms of fish.
The Manguezal Fluminense Cooperative, created by artisanal fishermen, carries out environmental education work in the vicinity with crab collectors and ecotourism.
The fisherman Alaildo Malafaia, president of the cooperative, stressed that Guanabara Bay still generates “a lot of income” without degrading the beauty that is still unknown to a large part of the urban population.
Among the historical attractions of Guapimirim are the hundred-year-old chapel of San Francisco de Croará, which marked the beginning of the Jesuit expeditions in Brazil in the 17th century.
And the traces of the oldest railway company in Latin America, inaugurated in 1854.