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Few tracks in Brazil have so
much history and few ones gather so much beauty as the track of the gold.
Located on the border of the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, it
is in curves from the top of the mountain of Bocaína, at 1.540 meters
high, almost to the sea in hundreds of kilometers.
To walk through the track of the gold is like going back in the
time. It was used to smuggle the gold that was explored in the mines of
Ouro Preto and it was taken to Portugal for that alternative track, that
didn't go by the inspection of that time.
In that track we can appreciate one of the most exuberant area of
the Atlantic forest, with waterfalls and landscapes that take your the
breath, and a scenery that begins with araucarias and hydrangeas, typical
of climates more warm, and it finishes with bromélias and tropical banana
trees, as well as several vestiges of an old time along the road, like the
ruins of the old cane mill and areas made of stone made by the slaves, the starting point for the track of the Gold is the
National Park of the Mountain of Bocaina, at 27 kilometers of São José
do Barreiro a city located at 174 kilometers far from São Paulo, in Vale
do Paraíba. The track
begins just after the current of the park, but if you prefer you can go by
Jeep to the area where you can see the first vestiges of old pavement. In
the middle of the forest there are treacherous forks. An experienced guide
is better recommended. Some options of lodging are Pousada Vale dos Veados
and casa da dona Palmira. A good stretch of the first part of the track is
made of stones of the old pavement. Another prominence point is Cacheira
dos Veados (Waterfall of the Deers). The walk finishes next to a suspended
bridge, after the river Santo Antônio at approximately 15 kilometers. of
the neighborhood of Perequê in Mambucaba (Angra dos Reis).
Approximate Duration : 1 ½ a 2 |