| Climbing Sites of Brasil + Mountain Voices English Version |
by Eliseu Frechou and
Silvério Néry Dear climber, |
| In Rio de
Janeiro state: the city, proper, and the Serra dos
Orgãos (Orgãos Range). The city is full of granite domes (including the famous Pão de
Açúcar - Sugar Loaf), all of them with plenty of routes - more than 1000. Serra dos
Orgãos is a wonderfull wild range, nice for hiking, trekking and climbing, and it’s
only 100 km from Rio. Serra dos Orgãos is a National Park where Pedra do Sino, Garrafão
and Dedo de Deus mountains are located. In São Paulo state, the place is Pedra do Baú (Chest Stone) in São Bento do Sapucaí, where I (Eliseu) live. It’s a very pleasant small mountain town with lots of boulders, easy going locals and very nice weather. The Baú range consists of three big rocks, Bauzinho (little Baú), Baú and Ana Chata (a name without meaning), with exposed walls of up to 300m, all good granite, and a hundred of trad and sport routes. Paraná state has its own beauties: the Marumbi range and the Anhangava. Marumbi, located in a State Park, is a rock massif part of the Serra do Mar (Sea Range). It’s steep and has many trad routes. The problem there is the weather (the same applies to Serra dos Orgãos and Anhangava): Serra do Mar suffers the influence of moist air masses and it’s always cloudy. In the summer it rains a lot, especially in January and February. Anhangava is a nice hill near the town of Curitiba, with lots of sport routes. In Minas Gerais the Serra do Cipó (Cipó Range), which is also a National Park, presents a distinctive kind of landscape we call cerrado, which is almost like an African savanna without the animals. It’s a very nice place for long treks (four days and more) and sports some fine limestone walls with a number of beautiful routes. DETAILS: There are no regulations for climbing in Brasil. The only restrictions are cheap admittance fees (US$ 1 to 5) in National and State Parks. In any area, we stress the same environmental and ethical rules as yourselves at Rock and Ice. Something like "don’t leave nothing but footprints, don’t take nothing but pictures" together with the "follow the local climbers ethics" attitude. Of course, foreigners must have a passport to travel to and inside Brasil. The difficulties to obtain a visa vary from country to country. We are not aware of any big problem in this subject. Any valid passport recognized by our immigration authorities is a valid document anywhere inside the country. Food is of good quality and easy to obtain, not only in the big cities, but also in small towns like São Bento do Sapucaí or Teresópolis (this one at the foothills of Serra dos Orgãos). Brazilians eat rice with beans, tomato salad and a beef as a standard, and it’s easy to find ready made dishes like that anywhere in the country for U$ 5 up to U$ 10 (in the big cities, there are also good and expensive restaurants, where one can spend up to U$ 100 for a dinner). For more serious trekking or expeditions, the best way is to buy food in a supermarket in a big city (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba or Belo Horizonte, for instance), where one can find good dried food, rice, noodles, etc., almost the same as in the US. In the climbing areas we’re talking about, there are no remote base camps, and nothing like high altitude climbing as well. Public transport is performed by buses (there are few railroads) or by car. It’s easy to rent a car at the main airports, but not so cheap (around US$ 100 per day). City buses are U$ 1 or less and travel buses are around U$ 20 for each 100 km. Comfort level varies, but they’re good to very good in the average. Outdoor and climbing equipment is expensive and not so easily available out of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Paraná states. It’s better to bring everything from home. There are some restrictions at Customs, but if you are bringing only what you’ll use here there will be no problem. Best season in the Southeast (which includes the areas of interest) is April through September. Peak months are May and August. In the higher places the coldest temperatures can reach -5°C. Average temperature is hot, around 24°C and higher. In the coast, like in Rio, it’s easy to reach 35°C. The summer months are much warmer (40°C in Rio and 30°C in Curitiba) and rainy, with daily showers every afternoon. Coldest months are June and July. Warmer ones are January and February. Best way to come to Brasil is by air. Everybody coming from outside South America will arrive either at São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro international airports. These cities have plenty of facilities for the standard tourist, but they’re not so cheap. São Paulo is as expensive as Tokyo, and Rio is like New York (this ranking appeared in an economics review last week). From these cities one can get to all other capital cities either by plane or bus. + ESSENTIAL INFO + FOR CAPITAL CITIES: Some of this has been already informed above. Currency in Brasil is the Real. Today, january/february, 2003, one US dollar buys 3,40 reais. Inflation is under control, less than 0,5% per month. Let’s detail a little more: São Paulo: it’s the biggest city in South America and it’s like many big cities around the world. The foreigner must stay in hotels and there are a lot of them, from magnificent five stars to pretty basic accommodations. It’s difficult for us to list them. There’s not such a tourits' district, but most people stay between the old downtown (Republica Square, São Luiz Ave.) and the new downtown (Paulista Ave.). Basic information and maps can be obtained at the hotels. Food is very good but generally expensive (U$ 10 to 20 an average meal). There are all kinds of restaurants, from fast food (KFC and Mac Donalds) to world class restaurants (pizza is a must, better here than in Italy). It’s easy to buy provisions and medicines, there are many shopping malls (we call them shopping centers, in English) and big supermarkets spread by the town. There are some (around 5) outdoor supply stores where one can find good gear but much more expensive than in the US. There are very good medical facilities, modern hospitals, large clinics, lots of pharmacies, either in the streets or inside the malls. General quality of facilities vary from reasonable to very good, depending on how much you can afford. Stopover activities: shopping, movies and restaurants. Rio de Janeiro: it’s Brasil’s most touristic city. The foreigner can stay in hotels and there are a lot of them, from magnificent five stars to pretty basic accommodations. There’s not such a travelers district, but most people stay in the South quarters or downtown. Basic information and maps can be obtained at the hotels and mountain clubs (called Clubes Excursionistas). Food is good (U$ 7 to 15 an average meal). There are many restaurants, from fast food to world class restaurants, too. It’s also easy to buy provisions and medicine, there are some shopping malls and big supermarkets together with street stores in the south zone and downtown. There are some outdoor supply stores, same as in São Paulo. There are good medical facilities, large hospitals and clinics and many pharmacies, mainly in the shopping streets. General quality of facilities vary from reasonable to very good, depending on how much you can afford. Stopover activities: the beaches! Belo Horizonte: it’s the capital city of Minas Gerais State. A big town, third or fourth in Brasil. The foreigner can stay in hotels and there are many of them, from good four/five stars to pretty basic accommodations. I don’t know about a tourist district. Basic information and maps can be obtained at the hotels. Food is good (U$ 5 to 15 an average meal). There are a few fast food stores and many good restaurants. It’s also easy to buy provisions and medicines, there are big supermarkets together with street stores, mainly downtown. There are a few outdoor supply stores, less than in São Paulo, Rio or Curitiba. There are good medical facilities, hospitals and clinics, many pharmacies, mainly downtown. General quality of facilities vary from reasonable to good, depending on how much you can afford. Curitiba: it’s the capital city of Paraná State. A nice town, not so big, but very well organized and clean. Its settlers were mostly Europeans and one can see it quickly in the streets: there are lots of blue eyed blondes, which is not the standard in Brasil. The foreigner can stay in hotels and there are many of them, from good four/five stars to pretty basic accommodations. Basic information and maps can be obtained at the hotels, mountain shops and mountain clubs. Food is good (U$ 5 to 15 an average meal). There are a few fast food stores and many good restaurants. It’s easy to buy provisions and medicines, there are big supermarkets and street stores, mainly downtown. There are some (around 10) outdoor supply stores, more than in São Paulo or Rio. There are good medical facilities, big hospitals and clinics, many pharmacies, mainly downtown. General quality of facilities vary from reasonable to good, depending on how much you can afford. LOCAL WISDOM: We speak Portuguese. We can understand most Spanish, but Spanish speakers cannot understand Portuguese as easily. Brazilians are generally easy going people. We like beaches, beer and summertime. However, this is a large country, and there are different local costumes and accents. Bargaining is useful, but trying very hard is not always the best approach. Usually one can get 5% to 15% discount, but not always. CONTACTS: + In São Bento do Sapucaí: Eliseu Frechou (professional mountain guide) - fax: 55 (12) 3971.1470, e-mail: frechou@montanhismus.com.br + In São Paulo: Silvério Nery- silverio@webcable.com.br + In Belo Horizonte: Ralf Azevedo (professional mountain guide) - (31) 9914.9624 - Rod - (31) 9781.8277 + Curitiba: Flavio Canteli (41) 3013.0897 juca@campobase.esp.br + Floranópolis: Marius Bagnati (professional
mountain guide) -
mariusfloripa@hotmail.com |
| Doubts or questions? == send us e-mail == |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
