Itatiaia National Park () was established in 1937 as the first

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, and after more than 85 years, the oldest. It is located on the border between the states of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

and

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

Location

The Itatiaia National Park, the oldest national park of Brazil, was created on 14 June 1937 by President

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; ; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Due to his long and contr ...

as the first of 76 such parks. The park is in the

Mantiqueira Mountains The Mantiqueira Mountains (Portuguese: ''Serra da Mantiqueira iterally: Mantiqueira Mountains Chain') are a mountain range in Southeastern Brazil, with parts in the states of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro (st ...

. It covers parts of the municipalities of

Itatiaia Itatiaia () is a List of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, municipality located in the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro. With a 2021 population estimate of 32,312, it is the 1,097th-most populous municipal ...

and Resende in Rio de Janeiro state, and Bocaina de Minas and Itamonte in Minas Gerais state. It is mountainous and rocky with altitudes ranging from . The highest point is the Black Needles peak ( Pico das Agulhas Negras). The higher part of the park contains the origins of 12 river basins that supply the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

(Grand River), a tributary of the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( ; ; ) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. ...

, and the

Paraíba do Sul The Paraíba do Sul (), or simply Paraíba, is a river in southeast Brazil. It flows west to northeast from its farthest source at the source of the river Paraitinga to the sea near Campos dos Goytacazes. The river receives its name when it m ...

, the most important river in Rio de Janeiro state. The lower part of the park has lush Atlantic Forest vegetation and wide rivers with natural pools and waterfalls. The Pico das Agulhas Negras is the state' third highest mountain at . The park attracts

bird watchers Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescope, ...

from all over the world with its 350 species of birds. Other attractions include hiking and rock climbing. The park is surrounded by the Serra da Mantiqueira Environmental Protection Area which provides an ecological buffer zone for the park. The high area of the park is accessible through an entrance about 35 km from the main entrance and gives access to the Pico das Agulhas Negras and Prateleiras complex. The low area of the park is much closer to the city of

and has many waterfalls, such as Véu da Noiva with 45 meters. The low area has also a Natural History museum. Itatiaia means "many-pointed rock" in the Tupi language.

Gallery

File:Itatiaia national park.JPG, Itatiaia National Park Overview File:Agulhasnegras.JPG, Pico das Agulhas Negras, the highest peak in the National Park File:Parque Nacional do Itatiaia floresta.jpg, Itatiaia National Park File:Cachoeira Véu da Noiva.jpg, Véu de Noiva waterfall File:Melanophryniscus moreirae flamenguinho.jpg, Melanophryniscus frog, symbol species of the park Parque Nacional do Itatiaia Reinaldo de Medeiros (03).jpg, Frilled coquette

Location

Gallery

Notes

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Further reading