Atlantic Rainforest: Intervales, Itatiaia & Ubatuba

The Atlantic Forest boasts such an unusually rich avifauna that even experienced birdwatchers tend to be confused by the many different sounds coming from the canopy, understorey and forest floor. Rainforest, more so than any other habitat, provides birders with their greatest challenge, but with patience and perseverance it can prove to be the most exciting and rewarding habitat of all, whether we are tracking down the plaintive whistles of tinamous, checking fruiting trees for cotingas, tanagers, parrots and toucans, or listening for the distant churring of an antbird flock following a swarm of army ants.

Parts of Intervales State Park consist of undulating limestone hills where deep caves add to the attraction. Sparkling streams tumble through these virtually untouched forests where patches of excellent bamboo are another major draw for visiting birders. A splendid set of wide and well-laid-out trails allows easy access to the forest, while nearby are lakes, areas of dense and impenetrable secondary growth and even some more open terrain. While the sun is still below the horizon, we will position ourselves at a strategic viewpoint overlooking a forest edge with many exposed canopy snags.

Large parts of the Serra de Paranapiacaba and of the Serra do Mar in western São Paulo state are still cloaked in pristine Atlantic rainforest and form the Mata Atlantica Biosphere Reserve, which was declared an International Biosphere Reserve in 1991 and a World Heritage Site in 1999. We shall be spending our five days in Intervales State Park, a 121,000-acre (49,000-hectare) state park that is part of a complex of four adjacent reserves that protect a total area of around 460 square miles (1200 square kilometres) at altitudes varying between 60-3600ft (20-1100m).

Itatiaia National Park is a superb park (12,000 ha) 257km east of São Paulo, which protects subtropical and temperate forest, with large stands of giant bamboo, as well as high grasslands on the slopes of some of Brazil's highest mountains. Mount Itatiaia rises to 2,787 m (8,490 ft). This National Park is a must for any birder in search of the Brazil's endemics, its list of over 270 species includes many of them.

Ubatuba lies near remnant lowland Atlantic forest, which supports some very rare and restricted endemic as well.

Our
Services

Guide and ranger team

During our tours at the Atlantic Rainforest, some State Parks and Reserves require the escort of a local ranger. This local fellow can point out some nesting activity and help the group participants to spot the birds. With our tour leader, each one working at their best and doing what they are supposed to do better.

Quality of our guides

Our tour leaders are experienced and fully trained professionals who host our guest in a variety of diverse areas. These dedicated people transform an already great safari into one that is out of this world! A guide that hosts you for the duration of your safari provides a consistent, detailed interpretation that is tailored to your specific interests. Our safaris are led by our local naturalist tour leaders, they are equipped with 20-60X spotting telescope for seeing distant animals, recording equipment, shotgun microphone and voice library for luring in rare and hard to see animals that respond to their own call bringing them into view, a spotlight for nocturnal viewing, and the appropriate bird, mammal identification books and updated checklist for your enjoyment.

Good accommodations

Our tour uses hotels which serve early breakfast and then we can go birding. All lodges offer rooms with private facilities and air-conditioning. We try to use lodges operated by locals because we firmly believe your money must to go to local hands because are those hands who hold the future of the region.