The Guartelá State Park () is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

in the state of

Paraná Paraná, Paranã or Parana may refer to: Geology * Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in South America Places In Argentina *Paraná, Entre Ríos, a city * Paraná Department, a part of Entre Ríos Province In Brazil *Paraná (state), a state ...

, Brazil. It protects the

Guartelá Canyon The Guartelá Canyon (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Cânion Guartelá'') is a canyon in Tibagi and Castro, Paraná, Castro, Paraná (state), Paraná, Brazil. The canyon of the Iapó River is protected by the Guartelá State Park, created in ...

, its surroundings and the area's natural environment.

Location

The Guartelá State Park is in the municipality of Tibagi, Paraná. It has an area of . It includes the Ponte de Pedra waterfall, about high, and the Córrego Pedregulho, a stream with natural cascades and "baths". There are rock paintings created by prehistoric residents, which can only be visited accompanied by a local guide. The rock paintings are about 7,000 years old. There are also traces of Jesuits and cattle drovers from the colonial era.

History

The Guartelá State Park was created by decree 1,229 of 27 March 1992 to protect an area of rich natural and archaeological heritage in the region of the

Iapó River The Iapó River () is a river of Paraná state in southern Brazil. It is a tributary of the Tibagi River. The river is known for the scenic Guartelá Canyon, which is protected by the Guartelá State Park, created in 1992. See also *List of ri ...

canyon. The park was created by Governor

Roberto Requião Roberto Requião de Mello e Silva (born March 5, 1941) is a Brazilian politician and journalist. He has represented Paraná (state), Paraná in the Brazilian Senate, Federal Senate two times, between 1995 and 2002 and from 2011 to 2019. Previously ...

. The governor who succeeded him reduced its size by 90%. It was implemented in 1997. It is managed by the Government of the State of Paraná with the objective of preserving the ecosystems typical of the region, the area's natural environment, including canyons, springs, waterfalls and native flora and fauna, caves and archaeological and prehistoric sites, including rock paintings, and of regulating tourism in the areas. It is administered by the Environmental Institute of Paraná (IAP). As of 2015 the park was receiving about 1,700 visitors per month, more than twice as many as ten years earlier.

Environment

The Guartelá Canyon is considered the 6th largest canyon in the world, and the only one with native vegetation. The French naturalist

Augustin Saint-Hilaire Augustin François César Prouvençal de Saint-Hilaire (4 October 17793 September 1853) was a French botanist and traveller who was born and died in Orléans, France. A keen observer, he is credited with important discoveries in botany, notably th ...

(1779–1853) called it the "terrestrial paradise of Brazil". Vegetation includes meadows, remnants of ''

cerrado The Cerrado () is a vast ecoregion of Tropics, tropical savanna in central Brazil, being present in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Paraná ...

'',

araucaria ''Araucaria'' (; original pronunciation: .ɾawˈka. ɾja is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. While today they are largely confined to the Southern Hemisphere, during the Jurassic and Cretaceous they were glo ...

forest, seasonal semi-deciduous forest and dense rainforest of the Atlantic Forest biome. Fauna include the

giant anteater The giant anteater (''Myrmecophaga tridactyla'') is an Insectivore, insectivorous mammal native to Central America, Central and South America. It is the largest of the four living species of anteaters, which are classified with sloths in the or ...

(''Myrmecophaga tridactyla''),

howler monkey Howler monkeys (genus ''Alouatta'', monotypic in subfamily Alouattinae) are the most widespread primate genus in the Neotropical realm, Neotropics and are among the largest of the New World monkey, platyrrhines along with the muriquis (''Brachyte ...

maned wolf The maned wolf (''Chrysocyon brachyurus'') is a large canine of South America. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Paraguay, and is almost extinct in Uruguay. Its markings resemble those of a red fox, but it is neither a fox nor ...

(''Chrysocyon brachyurus''),

tayra The tayra (''Eira barbara'') is an omnivorous animal from the mustelid family, native to the Americas. It is the only species in the genus ''Eira''. Tayras are also known as the ''tolomuco'' or ''perico ligero'' in Central America, ''motete'' ...

(''Eira barbara''),

ocelot The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted Felidae, wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, Central and South America, ...

(''Leopardus pardalis''),

margay The margay (''Leopardus wiedii'') is a small wild cat native to Mexico, Central and South America. A solitary and nocturnal felid, it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest. Until the 1990s, margays were hunted for the wildl ...

(''Leopardus wiedii''),

neotropical otter The neotropical otter or neotropical river otter (''Lontra longicaudis'') is a near-threatened (per the IUCN) otter species found in freshwater systems from Mexico and Central America through mainland South America, as well as the island of Trini ...

(''Lontra longicaudis''),

crab-eating raccoon The crab-eating raccoon, southern raccoon, or South American raccoon (''Procyon cancrivorus'') is a species of raccoon native to marshy and jungle areas of Central and South America (including Trinidad and Tobago). It is found from Costa Rica so ...

(''Procyon cancrivorus''),

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

(Puma concolor),

paca A paca ia a rodent in South and Central America. Paca or PACA may also refer to: People * William Paca (1740–1799), a Founding Father of the United States * Paca Blanco (Francisca Blanco Díaz, born 1949), Spanish activist * Paca Navas (Franc ...

s and

common agouti The agouti (, ) or common agouti is any of several rodent species of the genus ''Dasyprocta''. They are native to Central America, northern and central South America, and the southern Lesser Antilles. Some species have also been introduced else ...

s. The park is also home to

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

and

capybara The capybara or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris'') is the largest living rodent, native to South America. It is a member of the genus '' Hydrochoerus''. The only other extant member is the lesser capybara (''Hydrochoerus isthmi ...

(''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris''). Birds include

king vulture The king vulture (''Sarcoramphus papa'') is a large bird found in Central and South America. It is a member of the New World vulture family Cathartidae. This vulture lives predominantly in tropical lowland forests stretching from southern Mex ...

(''Sarcoramphus papa''), mantled hawk (''Pseudastur polionotus''),

blue-fronted amazon The blue-fronted amazon (''Amazona aestiva''), also called the blue-fronted parrot, the turquoise-fronted amazon and the turquoise-fronted parrot, is a South American species of amazon parrot and one of the most common amazon parrots kept in capt ...

(''Amazona aestiva'') and vinaceous-breasted amazon (''Amazona vinacea'').

Activities

As of 2016 the park was open from 8:00 to 16:30 from Wednesday to Sunday and on holidays. There is no entrance fee, but there is a fee for walking the trails. The park has a belvedere, from which the canyon of the Iapó River can be viewed. The belvedere is wheelchair accessible. There is a support vehicle for people with special needs such as the elderly, pregnant women or disabled people. The park provides education activities for students in the 6th and 7th years of school. It also supports research by the universities. There is no snack bar on the site. Visitors may bring cold picnics and should bring water. There are kiosks at Capão, from the visitor center, with drinking water, toilets and places for rest and relaxation. Visitors should stay in small groups and try to walk quietly, enjoying nature and only taking photographs. Prohibited activities included camping, barbecuing, consuming alcohol, bringing domestic animals, leaving the marked trails, bathing in unauthorized places, carrying tools or firearms, damaging or removing trees, any activity that could cause fires, littering, hunting, fishing, collecting rocks, fauna or flora, and feeding or frightening the animals. There is a basic trail of that takes two or three hours. It includes the belvedere, from which the canyon of the Iapó River can be viewed, the Ponte de Pedra Waterfall and the Panelões do Sumidouro, a place for swimming. The full trail is and takes three to five hours. Visitors must be accompanied by a guide. It includes the basic trail and also the Portal de Pedra, the Gavião trail and the rock paintings. The rock painting trail is closed when it is raining.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guartelá State Park State parks of Brazil Protected areas established in 1992 1992 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of Paraná (state)