Ilha do Cardoso State Park, State park in Cananéia, Brazil
Ilha do Cardoso State Park is a large protected area on the Atlantic coast featuring rainforest, mangrove wetlands, wide beaches, and water channels that lead to the ocean. The landscape is low and densely vegetated, with several village areas scattered across the island.
The reserve was established in 1962 to protect the Atlantic rainforest and the fishing communities living there. For more than six decades, the island has been legally protected as a place where nature and traditional settlement coexist.
Caiçara communities living on the island maintain traditional fishing methods passed down through generations, and visitors encounter this way of life directly through daily activities around the village. The residents demonstrate how people have worked with the ocean for centuries, making their practices visible in everything from boat construction to food preparation.
Access is by boat from the town of Cananéia, and accommodation is available in Vila do Marujá where walking trails connect to waterfalls, natural pools, and viewpoints. The paths are easy to navigate and move through different landscape types.
The area contains ancient archaeological sites with shell middens dating back 10,000 years, showing where early coastal peoples lived and were buried. These remains lie hidden in the ground but occasionally surface during exploration.
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