Misty Mountain
Situated in the border between the state of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, the Itatiaia National Park was Brazil’s first of its kind, founded in 1937 by presidential decree this is the only altitude field environment in Brazil. The highest peak in the park is called Pico das Agulhas Negras (Black Needle Peak) for its resemblance with sharp pointed needles towards the sky, with a total of 2791 meters above sea level.
A site I’ve been visiting for the last 15 years of my life as a escape from the urban sprawl that the cities have become, while also looking for fresh air and high altitude climate in a country known for hot beaches and summer. The vegetation in the mountain is also unique in Brazil with over 600 specimens only present in a 28 thousand hectare preservation zone where average temperatures range from 10C to 14C with quick and sharp changes in weather conditions due to the close proximity to the coast (around 250km).
This has been a photography lab for me since my childhood alongside my father and a place to spiritually connect with humbling stones from the depths of the earth as a way to put my troubles in perspective.
With this work I started to create confidence in my pictures, looking for the small details and big photos in the different expeditions in a mostly untouched location.
The location of the peak is clearly distinguished in satellite view from the tropical forest due to its brown coloration due to the altitude fields
On the way to the peak, several houses that were built can be found. They now lie abandoned due to a recent law enacted in Brazil that forbids private property inside national parks. Many tourists still sleep inside these structures
This specific structure was a old hotel, considered the tallest hotel in Brazil.
Providing power to remote installations proved too difficult and residents decided to create a small dam to generate electricity. The construction is dated from 1954 and is currently not in use.
The photo shows how the geological features erupt from a center, a millennia old volcano situated in the right side of the image is the origin of the mountainous region features in this album. It is estimated that the volcano is from the Precambrian Era (approx 540 million years ago)
Before reaching the altitude fields, it is possible to find medium sized flora in the road, and the terrain is still composed mostly of sedimentary dirt.
A project was started in 1944 to create a road infrastructure in the park, as a way to incentivize tourism, however the work lacked proper funding and was abandoned. Here we can find the road that remained from the initial project. As we progress further in the altitude fields, tall trees become a rare sight and shorter fauna and flora become more common.
The vegetation is divided by several rivers that grow from the rocks in the altitude fields, these rivers eventually find their way to the Atlantic ocean.
Without proper government funding, the national park lacks any infrastructure and maintenance, relying only with donations to help with signaling and rescue.
The majestic mountain appears quickly in the trail since there is only one route to reach the base of the mountain in order to start the climb.
As we approach the mountain the weather quickly changes and the ground is constantly drenched in intense fog and humidity
The peak is what remained from millions of years of erosion of the Itatiaia Volcano. What you see is the center of the pyroclastic tube where the magma flowed all the other exterior part of the volcano was eroded during millions of years. The rock is mostly made of Gneiss.
The mountain is considered a medium difficulty climb with very steep locations and professional climbing equipment is required to reach the summit. From this photo you can see other rock formations to the left and the hydroelectric dam on the distant right. All peaks shown in this photo are named and open to visitation.
The park also features different rock formations and waterfalls to climb with several difficulty levels
Famous for its rocks, the formation was created by millions of years of exposures in very erosion resistant rock, this caused massive cracks that are now explored by adventurous climbers
The Peak usually is covered in fast moving cumulonimbus clouds, making the climb very slippery sometimes. The park is constantly exposed from ocean winds that easily surpass 35km/h
