Serra dos Orgaos National Park

The range was named for organ pipes, which is what the granite spires above Teresopolis look like from a distance, and the best known of them is Dedo de Deus - God's Finger - a pointed tower that appears on the Rio de Janeiro state flag and was first climbed in 1912. Pedra do Sino at 2,275 metres is the high point. The park was created in 1939, among the earliest in Brazil, and protects Atlantic forest running up through cloud forest into high grassland. Its classic route is the Travessia Petropolis-Teresopolis, about thirty kilometres over three days across the range, camping high and crossing the Pedra do Sino ridge; it is the best-known multi-day walk in Brazil and needs registration and reasonable fitness.

What you actually see

• Dedo de Deus - the granite tower on the state flag, first climbed in 1912.
• The Petropolis-Teresopolis traverse - about thirty kilometres over three days.
• Pedra do Sino - the 2,275-metre high point of the range.
• Forest to high grassland - Atlantic forest giving way to cloud forest and campo.

When to go

April to September, the dry season. Three days for the traverse, a day for lower trails.

Honest expectations

The traverse must be registered in advance, is walked one way between two towns, and is harder than its distance suggests - steep, exposed and cold at the high camp. Rock climbing on Dedo de Deus is technical and needs a guide. Cloud sits on the range for much of the year.

Nearby

Teresopolis and Petropolis are at either end of the traverse; Rio is south.