Serra do Rola-Moça State Park, State park in Minas Gerais, Brazil
Serra do Rola-Moça State Park covers 3,941.09 hectares across Belo Horizonte, Nova Lima, Ibirité and Brumadinho, with a 52.22 km perimeter. Its rounded, scrub-covered mountains, including the Serra do Rola-Moça and Serra do Jatobá, hold springs feeding the Taboão, Rola-Moça, Barreirinho, Barreiro, Mutuca and Catarina streams. Lookouts such as Três Pedras, Planeta, Jatobá and Morro dos Veados give wide views.
The park was created by governor Hélio Garcia through decree 36.071 of 27 September 1994. Its six water basins, among them Taboão, Rola-Moça, Barreiro and Mutuca, supply Belo Horizonte through the sanitation company COPASA, so those spring areas were closed to visitors and placed under COPASA management. The State Forestry Institute took charge of overall administration and environmental education, with a consultative council of government and civil society members.
The park's name comes from a folk tale that inspired a poem by Mário de Andrade, which later became a song by Martinho da Vila. This story remains connected to the region's identity and how locals speak about the place.
The park is open daily from 8 am to 5 pm, and camping is not allowed. Trails, springs, waterfalls and nurseries require advance booking, and the ferruginous canga fields can only be visited with park monitors. Access is via four gates, including the Barreiro entrance in Belo Horizonte and the Nova Lima entrance with its visitor centre. April to October, the drier months, is the best time to come.
The park contains rare ferruginous fields found only in Minas Gerais' Iron Quadrangle and in Carajás in Pará state. This geological feature makes the area distinct among Brazil's protected landscapes.
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