Parque Nacional da Serra do Cipó, 100km northeast of Belo Horizonte, is one of the most beautiful parks in Minas. Most of the park’s vegetation is cerrado and grassy highlands, straddling the Serra do Espinhaço that divides the water basins of the São Francisco and Doce rivers. At lower elevations there are waterfalls and lush, ferny river valleys containing a number of unique orchids. Fauna here includes maned wolves, tamarin monkeys, banded anteaters, jaguars, bats and the small, brightly colored sapo de pijama (pyjama frog).
The park is vast, and the most popular trails involve multiday traverses of the serra (mountain range). Information and trail maps are available at park headquarters a few kilometers southeast of the town of Cardeal Mota. Two especially worthwhile day hikes are the 16km round-trip from headquarters to a 70m waterfall called Cachoeira da Farofa , and the 24km round-trip to the 80m-deep gorge called Cânion da Bandeirinha .
