Restinga de Bertioga State Park, State park in Bertioga, Brazil.
Restinga de Bertioga State Park is a fully protected conservation unit of 9,312.32 hectares entirely within the municipality of Bertioga, São Paulo. Its vegetation is a mosaic of mangrove, restinga and dense lowland Atlantic rainforest, and it safeguards the Itaguaré and Guaratuba river basins plus about 7 kilometres of the Itaguaré, Itaguá and Boracéia beaches. It is one of the largest stretches of restinga on the São Paulo coast.
The state government created this protected area in 2010 following research studies and community input on coastal conservation needs. The decision responded to the realization that these restinga forests faced serious threats and required formal protection.
The park holds sambaquis, shell and bone mounds built by fisher-hunter-gatherer peoples that date back five thousand years. These archaeological sites record long occupation of the Bertioga coast before the forest was formally protected in 2010.
Visits run only with accredited monitors, booked through agencies and operators in Bertioga; unauthorized entry is prohibited. The 4,140 m Guaratuba Trail starts in the Costa do Sol district via Condomínio Guaratuba and passes the Cachoeira de Guaratuba waterfall. The 2,700 m Água Trail leaves from the Praia district by the old Palmares heart-of-palm factory, passing the Itatinga hydroelectric cable line and the Guaranduva River iron bridge.
This reserve holds nearly all of the restinga forest that still exists in the broader region, making it exceptionally important for conservation. The variety of bromeliads and bird species that live here demonstrates why this forest type deserves protection.
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