When we talk about adventure tourism, trails, rafting, zip lines and similar activities in nature, the first name that comes to mind is Brotas, in the interior of São Paulo, one of the pioneer municipalities in the country to explore this vein. But perhaps the reader does not know that he can enjoy a little of the much that nature has to offer without leaving the limits of the capital of São Paulo, right there, in the Marsilac district, on the southern edge of the city.
It is there, 56 kilometers from Praça da Sé, the geographic center of São Paulo, that the SelvaSP park is located, a project by tourismologist Giuliano Prado, 38, who likes to define himself as “grandson and great-grandson of coal workers and railroad workers who came to build of the Mairinque-Santos railway, inaugurated in 1940”. Since then, the family has always been in the region and the taste for nature preserved there led him to work with ecotourism in the interior of São Paulo until he decided to return and undertake here.
SelvaSP began to be structured in 2011 and, according to Prado, it still has “about 60% complete”. Located in the region of the APAs (Environmental Protection Areas) Capivari Monos and Bororé Colônia, it offers the largest and best preserved remnant of Atlantic Forest in the capital of São Paulo. The Capivari River, considered by Sabesp (Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de São Paulo) as the cleanest in the city, is the river Capivari, as it does not cross densely populated areas.
With all that nature, rapids and waterfalls on offer, the place is ideal for various practices such as rafting, board, buoy cross, but also for cycling, zip-lining, tree climbing – and trails, of course.
The shortest trail, Manacás, with 3 circular kilometers, is recommended for beginners and can be covered, on average, in 3 hours. As for Quatro Cachoeiras, of intermediate difficulty level, it takes an average of 7 hours to cover its 8 kilometers.
Attention: for all activities it is important to wear clothes that can get wet and take a spare change so you don’t come home dripping along the way. As on any trail that crosses woods, long-sleeved blouses are advisable, as well as repellent, caps and closed shoes that protect the feet and offer more traction on uneven ground. You will be in São Paulo, but you will hardly remember it.
Access to the park is paid and costs R$ 20 per person (residents of the region, children under 8 and over 60 do not pay) and gives access to the Marsilac waterfall. Activities that require the assistance of guides and technicians are charged separately in packages and different values that can be checked on the website.
According to Prado, the entrance fee is fully passed on to the Mbyas Guarani, official owners since 2014 of the Tenonde Porã Indigenous Land, which encompasses the region. The indigenous people themselves guided visitors through the beauties of their land, but since the beginning of the pandemic they have suspended activities, maintaining the partnership agreement with SelvaSP.
“They should resume this work next year, but for now we are the only ones authorized here”, says Prado. “And this is what confirms that we are right on the path to sustainability and preservation of the area”, he adds, explaining that the resources for managing the park come from partnerships with the services offered and their providers.
Anyone who checks the rules for visiting the park on the website immediately realizes that the requirements are many. It is not allowed to smoke outside established places, camp, make fires, bring alcoholic or soft drinks, eat in or around water courses, play ball, pick plants or take pets. The local fauna and flora will thank you.
“I would spend a lot more time there if I could”, says actor, author, director and theater teacher Ivam Cabral, who, although he lives and works in Praça Roosevelt, in the center of the capital, has a place near the park and usually takes his friends who visit you there. “It’s a very incredible place, where I find myself, I love walking in the middle of the bush”, he adds, regretting that access is so precarious for those who want to visit the place without their own vehicle.
“We would need to have access to a more organized place, but the public power does not reach there, it is cowardly in expanding services, there are not many options to promote visitation”, he evaluates.
History professor Caio Graco Santos Lobo, 31, and artist and tattoo artist Paula Chimanovitch, 28, agree with him, who decided to leave Butantã, where they live, to visit the park on April 21st. The adventure began when she asked her Instagram followers for suggestions for tours that she could take in the city on foot or by public transport. That’s how she discovered the existence of SelvaSP. The next step was to put the address on the map: how to get there?
“Leaving Butantã to the park we took almost four hours by subway, CPTM train, bus and, in the end, 5 kilometers of dirt road made on foot”, says Paula, who faced the round trip route with the eyes of tourist in your own city.
“I saw this tour as an opportunity to get to know a little more about this complex city in which I live, to see how the landscape changes, from being urbanized to becoming a rural area and still being the same city, it’s a very interesting experience,” ensures.
Prado informs that it is possible to hire a transfer from the point that the visitor chooses when purchasing tickets for the activities on the website. And, as it is an urban stretch, one car per app can also be an option. But this information is not easily identifiable on the pages, which could be more specific to attract more than the 200 visitors who go there on average on a weekend, according to him.
Anyway, for those who enjoy walking, as is probably the case of the reader who arrived here, the 5 kilometers one way (and many more back) should not be an obstacle to discover this sanctuary in São Paulo.
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