13. Centro de Visitantes x Portão da Floresta

Section: Centro de Visitantes x Portão da Floresta

Orientation

Technical Information

Attractions

Section Map

Interactive Map

Trail Description

West/Barra de Guaratiba to East/Morro da Urca
Those starting this section coming from the Suspension Bridge, following the yellow footprints/black base, will have asphalt ahead. Going forward, on the left there is a descending trail that passes through a park recreation area (Meu Recanto). Turn left at the bridge and cross the asphalt towards the Visitor Center. Continue walking along the river, then turn right at the bridge and soon reach Mayrink Chapel (400 m). Then follow the asphalt and soon enter the trail on your left. From this point, climb to the first fork (570 m). Continue on the Main Trail for another (160 m). At this point you can shorten the section by going left for another (650 m) straight to the Cascatinha Viewpoint, or go right for another (250 m) to the unmissable Alto do Cruzeiro, then another (600 m) to the thrilling Suspended Lookout and completing another (300 m) to the historic Açude Museum, worth a free visit.

From the Museum, continue on the Main Trail always following the yellow footprints/black base to a fork (900 m) where we go right and continue another (450 m) to the Cascatinha Viewpoint. From this point we see the exuberance of the Atlantic Forest, Pedra do Conde and Tijuca Mirim, and of course Cascatinha Taunay below. Now just go back a few meters to the Main Trail and walk another (700 m) downhill to the fork leading to Cascatinha Taunay (200 m) or continue towards the Portão da Floresta da Tijuca (300 m) where you can get a ride home.

East/Morro da Urca to West/Barra de Guaratiba
For those starting this section at Portão da Floresta da Tijuca heading East/Morro da Urca to West/Barra de Guaratiba, just follow the black footprints/yellow base and enter left on the trail right after the Floresta da Tijuca gate. From this point, just follow the route described above in reverse. Soon you will have the Cascatinha Viewpoint ahead and then follow the Açude Museum and Suspended Lookout circuit until reaching Mayrink Chapel and the Park's Visitor Center.

How to Get There

For those already walking along the Main Trail coming from the Suspension Bridge heading West to East, just continue on the Main Trail following the yellow footprints/black base towards the Visitor Center.

In the other direction, East/Morro da Urca to West/Barra de Guaratiba, follow the Main Trail for those entering the Park from Morro do Queimado. You can access it via the Estudantes trail, immediately to the left after passing through the Park's main entrance gate at Praça Afonso Viseu in Alto da Boa Vista. Just go through the gate and immediately turn left onto the Estudantes trail, following the black footprints/yellow base. From this point on, just follow the signage.

Street View

Infographic

Attractions

Visitor Center, Mayrink Chapel, children's playground and picnic area, Alto do Cruzeiro, Leopoldo and Matheus trails, Cascatinha Taunay, Cascatinha Viewpoint, Açude Museum, Suspended Lookout, Praça Afonso Viseu.

Commerce/Accommodation

Bar Boa Vista, better known as Bar da Pracinha, is located at Pracinha do Alto da Boa Vista (Praça Afonso Viseu). With a very varied menu, the house specialty is filet mignon dishes, in addition to options such as traditional feijoada offered on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Also betting on exotic and healthy eating, ostrich meat has arrived on the menu with two dish options. In winter, with lower temperatures, the cold in the region is intense, so the establishment has fireplaces, heaters and distributes ponchos for patrons. Located at Praça Afonso Viseu, the restaurant is the only one in the city located inside a square, where children can play and have fun during meals or their parents' beer, without worry.

There is currently no partnership between the Transcarioca Trail and local businesses.

Water Points

Along the route there are water points and restrooms at the Visitor Center. Also at Cascatinha Taunay and the bar near Portão da Floresta da Tijuca. On weekends, a simple food kiosk also operates at the entrance by the gate.

Photos

Historical Facts

Mayrink Chapel: The Mayrink Chapel was built in 1850 by Viscount Antônio Alves Souto and later sold to the Baron of Mesquita, with Our Lady of Carmel as its patron saint. The pink color symbolized the family's status in the era of the Coffee Barons. Later sold to Counselor Francisco de Paula Mayrink, when it became known as Capela Mayrink. Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is still its patron saint to this day, representing faith and charity at the entrance. The chapel once had original works by Cândido Portinari, which after being stolen were recovered and donated to the National Museum of Fine Arts. To this day, replicas of the originals are displayed on the chapel's altar.

Leopoldo and Matheus Trails: Five slaves, Eleutério, Leopoldo, Manoel, Matheus and Maria, participated in the reforestation process of the Tijuca Forest. Two of them had trails named in their honor.

Alto do Cruzeiro: In 1850, slaves were forbidden from attending masses held at the Mayrink Chapel by the noble farmers, so they built their own altar, Alto do Cruzeiro, where the table used for candles still exists today.

Açude Museum: The Açude Museum was created in 1964 by its patron, industrialist Raymundo Ottoni de Castro Maya, owner of Gordura de Coco Carioca. A man of many qualities, Castro Maya was a collector of relevant importance for Brazilian art, as well as a nature lover. In 1943, he coordinated the renovation and urbanization of the Tijuca Forest. In the early 1990s, after ECO92, curator Márcio Doctors was invited by then-director Carlos Martins to conceptualize a project relating contemporary art and nature, creating in 1994 an exhibition of temporary installations related to the Tijuca Forest, listed by the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN) since 1966. In 1999, Márcio Doctors created the Permanent Installations Space, building a contemporary art collection for the Açude Museum, reconfiguring the old bourgeois idea of a sculpture garden into a Space of permanent installations. A pioneering project in Brazil, awarded in 2004 by the Government of Rio de Janeiro with the Estácio de Sá prize for its excellence and relevance to the history of Brazilian art.

Morro do Visconde (Cascatinha Viewpoint): Viscount Alfred Escragnolle Taunay was heir to Sítio do Taunay. His father lived for many years on the site where he built a house, where today there is a quadrilateral in the middle of the Cascatinha parking lot. His father was Félix Taunay, the Baron of Taunay, who inherited the house from Nicolas Antoine Taunay, the famous painter who came to Brazil with the French Artistic Mission of 1818 where he immortalized the image of the waterfall through his painting.

Adopting Group

Anderson Ribeiro (Avec Trilhas)
Email: avectrilhas@globo.com