The Serra da Canastra National Park was open in 1972 with the main purpose to protect the head spring of the São Francisco river. It covers three cities in Minas Gerais: Sacramento, Delfinópolis and São Roque de Minas, the latter being the main entrance to the Park.
The landscape’s beauty, where the Cerrado is covered by lush waterfalls, attracts people who want to practice sports such as trekking, climbing, rappel and hiking. The trails are bumpy and rugged, therefore, you will need a guide, especially to get through the Casca D’Anta, San Francisco’s first waterfall, with nearly 200 meters.
With almost 72 thousand acres of preserved area, the park consists of typical Cerrado vegetation, where it is possible to observe species such as pau-de-colher, arnica-do-campo and the Blue Lily, as well as orchids and bromeliads. There are also over 350 species of birds and several wild animals, many threatened by extinction, such as the pato-mergulhão (merganser), lobo-guará (maned wolf) and the tamanduá-bandeira (giant anteater).
The best period to go to Serra da Canastra is from April to November, when there is less rain.
15.00 R$ (R$ 7.50 for Brazilians).
Address
Avenida Presidente Tancredo Neves, 498, Centro - São Roque de Minas, MG
São Roque de Minas is located 320 km from Belo Horizonte and access to the city is through the MG 050 Highway. The Park entrance is located 7 km from Downtown and the best option to get there is to rent a car.