The Pico do Itambé 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

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 ...

, Brazil. It protects one of the higher peaks in the state.

Location

The Pico do Itambé State Park is divided between the municipalities of

Santo Antônio do Itambé Santo Antônio do Itambé is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The population is 3,799 (2020 est.) in an area of 305.74 km². The municipality contains part of the Pico do Itambé State Park, created in 1998. See also * List ...

Serro Serro is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. The city belongs to the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte and to the Microregions of Brazil, microregion of Conceição do Mato Dentro. As of 2020, the estimated populatio ...

and Serra Azul de Minas in Minas Gerais. It has an area of . It is from

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

. The word "Itambé" is of indigenous origin and means "sharp stone". The park protects the Serra do Espinhaço, a mountain range. The highest peak is the Pico do Itambé, a major landmark of the state. It contains various springs and headwaters of the Jequitinhonha and

Doce Doce was a Portuguese pop all-female band founded in 1979, one of the first of its type in Portugal and in Europe. Its name is the Portuguese word for "sweet" and its core lineup consisted of Lena Coelho, Laura Diogo, Teresa Miguel and . The ba ...

rivers.

History

The Pico do Itambé State Park was created by decree 39.398 of 21 January 1998. It is administered by the Instituto Estadual de Florestas of Minas Gerais. The park became part of the

Espinhaço Mosaic The Espinhaço: Alto Jequitinhonha – Serra do Cabral Mosaic (), or simply Espinhaço Mosaic, is a Protected area mosaic (Brazil), protected area mosaic in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Background The Espinhaço Mountains extend for about ...

of conservation units, created in 2010.

Environment

The park has a typical tropical climate with a dry season from June to August and a rainy season from November to March. The highest parts of the Serra do Espinhaço have mild temperatures year round, with an annual average of about . The vegetation includes high rocky fields and

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 ...

, with luxuriant rainforest in the valley floors. The park is in the transition between the Atlantic Forest and

biomes. It includes rupestrian vegetation, grasslands, cerrado and seasonal forest. Flora include ''

Anadenanthera colubrina ''Anadenanthera colubrina'' (also known as vilca, huilco, huilca, wilco, willka, curupay, curupau, cebil, or angico) is a South American tree closely related to yopo, or ''Anadenanthera peregrina''. It grows to tall and the trunk is very thorn ...

'', ''

Copaifera langsdorffii ''Copaifera langsdorffii'', also known as the diesel tree, is a tropical rainforest tree. It has many names in local languages, including kupa'y, cabismo, and copaúva. Biological description ''Copaifera langsdorffii'' is a medium-sized to larg ...

'', ''

Dalbergia nigra ''Dalbergia nigra'', commonly known as the Bahia rosewood, jacarandá-da-Bahia, Brazilian rosewood, Rio rosewood, jacarandá-do-brasil, pianowood, caviúna, graúna, jacarandá-una or obuina is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae. Descri ...

'', ''

Handroanthus albus ''Handroanthus albus'', the golden trumpet tree, is a tree with yellow flowers native to Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and the Cerrado (tropical savannas) of Brazil, where it is known as . This plant is found in the Brazilian states of Distrito ...

'', '' Eremanthus erythropappus'', '' Trattinnickia burseraefolia'', ''

Calophyllum brasiliense ''Calophyllum brasiliense'' (guanandi) is a species of plant in the family Calophyllaceae. It is native to subtropical and tropical regions of Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Description It is an evergreen tree growing ...

'', ''

Byrsonima crassifolia ''Byrsonima crassifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malpighiaceae, native to tropical America. Common names used in English include nance, maricao cimun, craboo, and golden spoon. In Jamaica it is called hogberry. The plan ...

'', '' Vellozia squamata'' and various species endemic to the region. A new

bromeliad The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a Family (biology), family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the Tropics, tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and on ...

was discovered in the rocky cliffs of the Fumaça waterfall in 2007, named ''Orthophytum itambense''. In 2021 a new bromeliad, '' Waltillia itambana'', was found to be

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the park. There is a varied fauna, including

southern tamandua The southern tamandua (''Tamandua tetradactyla''), also called the collared anteater or lesser anteater, is a species of anteater from South America and the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. It is a solitary animal found in many habitats, from ...

(''Tamandua tetradactyla''),

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''),

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''),

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'') and Coimbra Filho's titi (''Callicebus coimbrai''). In 2011 a new species of amphibian was discovered in the park ('' Crossodactylodes itambe)''.

Tourism

The park is part of the Diamonds and Royal Road tourist circuit. The best time to visit is in the dry season from April to October as between November and March the trails may be closed on rainy days. The Waterfalls trail leads to four waterfalls, the furthest of which is the Rio Vermelho, from the main road. The Água Santa waterfall has two drops, of . The Fumaça waterfall has a drop. The Neném waterfall has a drop of . The Rio Vermelho waterfall is high. The Tropeiros trail is part of a historical route used by merchants travelling between Santo Antônio do Itambé e Capivari. It is long, but easy walking. Guides are recommended but not required. The Mountains and Valleys trail leads to the Pico do Itambé, and is more physically demanding. Authorization is required to take the Tropeiros trail or visit the Pico do Itambé.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pico do Itambe State Park State parks of Brazil Protected areas established in 1998 1998 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of Minas Gerais