Located in Southern Brazil, the state of Paraná occupies an area of 199,554 km² that corresponds to 2.3 % of Brazil’s total area. The main cities of Paraná are Curitiba, the capital followed by Londrina, Cascavel, Ponta Grossa, Maringá, Guarapuava and Foz do Iguaçu. Each one of them will surprise you in a totally different way.
Paraná State has lowlands on the coast, plains, plateaus, mountains and one of the best-preserved Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest areas of the country, the Serra do Mar.
Serra Mar has approximately 500,000 hectares and 72 % of the total flora and fauna existing in the State can be founde there.The area was declared by UNESCO a Biosphere Reserve in 1991 and is natural habitat to more than 2,500 species of native flora, many extinction risk animals like jaguars, black hawk-eagle, guan, macuco, among others.
In this same area you will find the Paraná Peak which has 1,922 meters and it is the highest peak in Southern Brazil. With 66,732 hectares full of the Marumbi Peak State Park is another interesting tourist attraction in this area. Here, you will see many other peaks, cliffs and trails perfect to practice mountaineering, climbing and eco-tourism in the region. Marumbi Peak Pico with 1,547 meters is the most famous peak!
In addition to the peaks, famous historical paths considered an engineering art. Caminho do Itupava and Estrada da Graciosa were both built 300 years ago and nowadays besides being a great eco-tourism option it is visited and used for environmental and preservation proposals to help to protect and preserve our forest, history and culture of the first Paraná colonizers.
Heading to the countryside and west the state is divided in three distinct plateaus. Curitiba, the capital of Paraná and also known as the ecological capital is located on the first plateau. The city is also considered model in urban planning, public transportation and life quality for its inhabitants.
In the second plateau sedimentary rocks, leaflets, sandstone and calcareous found on Vila Velha State Park, in Ponta Grossa are the main attractions. The rocks in this region have been artistically carved by nature over 350 million years and the rocky formations have received names according to the impressive figures and shapes. The most famous rocks are the Cup, the Bottle, the Camel, the Indian, the Sphinx, among many others. In addition to the shaped-sandstones, Lagoa Dourada and Furnas are other highlights of the park.
In Ponta Grossa you can also visit Buraco do Padre, Santa Barbara’s Chapel (built by the Jesuits) and the Mariquinha Waterfall.
Guartelá Canyon is another important tourist attraction in this region. Located between the municipalities of Castro and Tibagi approximately 203 km northwest of Curitiba, it is the largest canyon in Brazil and the 6th worldwide. Guartelá State Park was created in 1992 and has a rich ecosystem, diversified flora and fauna and plenty natural attractions like waterfalls, rapids, sandstone formations, deep valleys and inscriptions.
Paraná is subdivided into two main basins: Paraná River Basin and the rivers of Atlantic drainage basin. The waters of Paraná attract thousands of tourists, specially Foz do Iguaçu and Paraná coastline.
Internationally famous for its gorgeous waterfalls and other attractions, Foz do Iguaçu is the second most visited/favorite destination visited by foreign tourists and the number one in Southern Brazil. It is internationally famous because of the Iguassu Falls and the Iguassu National Park, declared by UNESCO a World Heritage, the Itaipu Binational Hydroelectric, world's biggest hydroelectric.
Few places in Brazil have an awesome combination of art, culture, gastronomy and ecotourism like Paraná Coast. With 98 km of extension, Parana coastline offers great diversity of landscapes, destinations and natural beauties such as ecological reserves where rare species of flora and fauna can be found, beautiful beaches, islands and bays that provide unforgettable moments. The main attractions are Paranaguá Bay, the surprising and exotic Ilha do Mel e and Superagui Island that constitute one of the World’s most important coastal Ecosystems! The charmy and colonial towns of Morretes and Antonina, Guaratuba, Guaraqueçaba and Paranaguá complete the Paraná Coast’s tourist highlights.
Paraná has 10,444,526 million inhabitants (IBGE, 2010) and it is a very cosmopolitan state, one of the largest ethnic diversity of Brazil. Many german, polish, ukrainian, italian, arabic, spanish, dutch, indians, japanese, african, portuguese settled down here many years ago and helped to build the people, culture, traditions and gastronomy of Paraná.
The first immigrations signs began in the XVI Century when foreign expeditions started to come to the region to find wood and other goods. In the 17th Century, portuguese and “paulistas” – people from São Paulo State – also started to occupy the region after gold was discovered in the region. They also came to capture Indians and use them as slaves! After a while, the gold mining and extraction moved to Minas Gerais. Until the 18th Century, there were only two towns in the state: Curitiba and Paranaguá.
At this time, the region belonged to the state of São Paulo and became an independent province in 1853. After this, the local government started an immigration campaign that attracted around 20,000 immigrants between 1853 and 1886. They came to Paraná with the idea to find promised work, land, production and tranquility in a unknown land. Many colonies were formed here and were harmoniously involved. Each country brought its cultures and traditions and this mixture of all this ethnic and cultural diversities resulted in the people, local hospitality and Paraná’s culture, rich in arts, dances, traditions, gastronomy and handcrafts.
Some of these colonies remained and still preserve the same morals, beliefs, traditions, languages (dutch, german, italian, ukrainian, polish, Japanese, native indigenous languages) and are interesting tourist attractions in our state.
