07. Pau da Fome x Piraquara

Section: Pau da Fome x Piraquara

Orientation

Technical Information

Attractions

Section Map

Interactive Map

Route Description

(West to East / Barra de Guaratiba to Morro da Urca)
Starting at the end of the Casa Amarela x Pau da Fome section, we enter through the Pau da Fome headquarters of the Pedra Branca Park and follow the yellow footprint/black base markings. We go into the trail and walk (500 m) until crossing a river. Then we continue along another river and soon turn right towards Piraquara.

We walk (1.5 km) through the forest, passing some local houses until we reach a fork to the left on a small dirt road with a steep incline. From this fork we climb (650 m) to a viewpoint on the left where we can appreciate the Tijuca massif in the distance. After this rest we have a good stretch of (2.5 km) to the two towers. We continue for another (1.1 km) to a clearing with several viewpoints. We descend another (500 m) to the Jabuticabeira tree. This is the place to rest, have a snack and refill your water bottle.

We now climb (1.1 km) to Pedra do Ponto and descend another (2.0 km) until we find the trail in the forest again. Now we have another (1.4 km) descent to the fork for the Piraquara dam, only (120 m) to the dam. Returning to the Main Trail, we walk just (80 m) to the Piraquara headquarters, where we will find a natural swimming pool, restrooms, parking, playground and support from the environmental police who maintain an operations base there.

The exit to the gate is no more than (400 m).

How to Get There

This section of the Transcarioca Trail can be reached from the Pau da Fome headquarters of the Pedra Branca State Park or from the Piraquara headquarters of the Pedra Branca State Park.

Infographic

Attractions

Natural swimming pool, forest, viewpoints, Pedra do Ponto, Monte Alegre, Morro Grande, Pau da Fome headquarters, ruins of the old aqueduct.

Food/Lodging

At the entrance of the Pau da Fome headquarters of the Pedra Branca State Park, just a few meters away there is a great kiosk run by Sr. João serving sugarcane juice, cassava fritters and other snacks.

Along the way there is no more commerce until descending from the Piraquara headquarters.

Water Points

There are several water points along the trail.

Photos

Historical Facts

The Barata aqueduct was built in the 1960s under the government of Carlos Lacerda to supply the South Zone and Barra. Before its existence, water shortages in those regions were constant. It starts at Guandú, passes through Lameirão in Santíssimo, reaches the Barata aqueduct, going over Estrada do Catonho.

The name Pau da Fome originates from the habit of some drovers: they used to have meals under a fig tree. They would say "We are at the hunger pole" (Estamos no pau da fome).

The water supply in the city of Rio de Janeiro, around 1817, was precarious, forcing the Court Government to adopt protection measures for water sources due to forest devastation.

The areas of the Rio Grande springs, belonging to the farm of Barão da Taquara, were acquired in 1908 by the Federal Government, which made important improvements to the Pau da Fome Dam. At the time, the Camorim spring area was also expropriated by the Union to establish a forest reserve and expand the weir and water treatment and distribution systems.

Aiming at preserving water sources, historian Magalhães Corrêa, in the early 1930s, exposed in his articles published in the Correio da Manhã newspaper the need to protect the forests of the Pedra Branca Massif.

In parallel, the Federal Government instituted the so-called Protective Forests of the Union, many of which are located in this Massif: Camorim, Rio Grande, Caboclos, Batalha, Guaratiba, Quininha, Engenho Novo de Guaratiba, Colônia, Piraquara and Curicica, all with water catchment for supply. These catchments are today historical landmarks of Rio's hydraulic engineering, as many of them were already old when the protectionist measure was decreed.

Based on the water supply needs in the outskirts of the city, legal measures were initiated by public agencies at the federal, state and municipal levels regarding the preservation of the Massif.

Decree no. 1.634 of April 1963 promoted the integrated use of the Massif, declaring the lands that comprise the region as public utility for expropriation purposes.

In 1972, a working group was created by ordinance "P" SPG no. 20, of July 18, to propose the necessary measures for the creation of the Park. This group was replaced by ordinance "P" SPG no. 3, on January 19, 1973, which concluded a report indicating the necessary measures for the creation of the Park. The report, quite comprehensive for the time, included socioeconomic aspects, climate, occupation, vegetation cover status, aspects related to the historical, artistic and archaeological heritage of the Massif region, suggesting delimitation, naming, administrative and financial aspects, attributions of the State and the Union, possibility of agreements and indicating measures for the development of the master plan.

Source: Parque Pedra Branca

Adopting Group

Diego Monsores
Phone: (21)98717-0526