Serra do Rio do Rastro

The SC-390 climbs from around two hundred metres at Lauro Muller to about fourteen hundred at Bom Jardim da Serra in twelve kilometres of road, and the way it does it - a stack of hairpins folded back on themselves against a near-vertical basalt face, with tunnels and retaining walls - is why the drive has become a destination in its own right for drivers and motorcyclists. It opened in 1930 and was rebuilt and paved in the 1980s. From the mirante at the top the road is visible below as a coiled line, and on genuinely clear days the Atlantic is visible some sixty kilometres away. Cloud sits below the rim often enough that the standard photograph is of the road disappearing into it.

What you actually see

• Stacked hairpins on a cliff - a thousand metres of climb in twelve kilometres.
• The road from the mirante - the coil visible below from the top.
• The Atlantic on clear days - the sea sixty kilometres off.
• Cloud below the rim - the common condition, and the usual photograph.

When to go

April to September for the clearest air. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Fog closes the view on many days and makes the driving genuinely difficult; ice forms at the top in winter. There are few barriers on some sections. Weekends bring heavy motorcycle traffic. Facilities on the road are limited to the top and bottom.

Nearby

Urubici and Sao Joaquim are on the plateau; Lauro Muller is below.