Serra do Cipó National Park, Protected natural area in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Serra do Cipó National Park is a protected area in Minas Gerais featuring mountains, valleys, rivers, and waterfalls set within diverse vegetation. The landscape is part of the Cerrado biome and displays different plant communities that change with elevation and local conditions.
The protected area was established in 1984 by the Brazilian government to preserve and manage this natural landscape. The regulations were later expanded to strengthen protection across different sections.
The park's name comes from the cipó vines that weave through the Serra do Espinhaço. The main entrance sits in the Serra do Cipó district of Santana do Riacho, about 100 km from Belo Horizonte. Tourism grew from the 1990s, when pousadas and restaurants opened to serve ecotourists. The Cipo canastero (Asthenes luizae), a bird named after the range, is found almost nowhere else.
The park has several entry points and trails suitable for different hiking levels, along with camping areas and spots for bird watching. The drier months offer the best visiting conditions, as paths are easier to walk and less slippery after rain.
The Cipo canastero (Asthenes luizae) is a bird known only from the Serra do Espinhaço around this park, and the lizard Placosoma cipoense also carries the range in its name. The fish Characidium lagosantense and the butterfly Nirodia belphegor are likewise tied to these highland streams and campos rupestres. The park's 31,639 hectares were decreed on 25 September 1984.
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