Caraca National Park

Caraca National Park is a remarkable forest reserve of Brazil that is located in the center of the Serra do Espinhaço Mountains and is said to be one of the best places of South America. The park area is located at an elevation of 720 m and stretches to 2070 m upwards. The meaning of Caraça is ‘big face’ and it is called so because the mountains surrounding the park area is said to bear a resemblance with the face of a colossal giant who seems to be gazing at the sky above.

The lower region of the Caraca National Park is acquired by the Atlantic forest and the higher areas are covered by the grassland and mountain habitats. The park also has a number of water bodies including waterfalls, lakes and rivers.

Visitors to the Caraca National Park opt for trails to view the diverse landscapes offered at different altitude of the park as well as the endangered wildlife. The most endangered mammals in the Caraca National Park are the tufted-eared marmosets, masked titi monkeys, wolves and brown capuchin monkeys with various other animal species.

The trails are very easy to follow but visitors are recommended to follow a guide that is available in the seminary of the Caraca National Park.

The wild life sanctuary also has a number of bird species and it includes antbirds, toucans, hummingbirds, guans, woodpeckers, tanagers, long-trained nightjars, cotingas, scissor-tailed nightjars and much more. Some of these bird species are endemic, while few are rare and even endangered ones that are protected safely by the forest reserve authority.