Hiking to Pedra Grande

Contrary to everything that was expected for a cold and cloudy Sunday, with a lot of wind, instead of staying home curled up on the couch watching a movie, I went hiking. And not just any hike — it was a trail I had wanted to do for a long time, ever since I visited this natural monument for the first time back in 2021. On that occasion, I had reached Pedra Grande, in Atibaia, by car, and since then I’ve wanted to do the route on foot, actually through one of the trails that leads up to the rock. And that day finally came.

Even though I had been preparing myself mentally and physically for a few months for this climb, it turned out to be much harder than I had imagined. Maybe it was because my body wasn’t in the best condition that day or just not very receptive to a hike. I don’t know. But it was definitely tough. The trail is very steep and now, two days later, my muscles are still complaining about that climb.

The trail starts inside a gated community called Arco-Íris, where you can drive in and receive directions from the security guard on where to park, which is right at the beginning of the trail. It starts on dry, sandy ground that is a little slippery, so wearing proper hiking shoes really helps. The climb begins right away. In the beginning, there are stretches where you have to scramble a bit, climbing over rocks, small embankments and uneven terrain with makeshift steps along the way to make the climb easier.

There are several trails that lead to Pedra Grande and we took the one called Minha Deusa, which I believe is the most popular and well-known, but there are other routes too, with different points of interest along the way.

Every description I read classified this trail as moderately difficult, and I think that’s a fair assessment. It really depends on your level of fitness, but it’s definitely challenging for someone who isn’t used to doing this kind of activity. We ended up completing the hike in about an hour total. Of course, I stopped along the way to take pictures of things that caught my eye, like the butterflies I always seem to find, and also a small water spout — seemingly a spring where the water appeared to be bubbling up from the ground.

For me, one of the coolest things about this trail is that as you go up, you can see the city of Atibaia below getting farther and farther away, and that gives you a real sense of how much progress you're making on the climb.

After about an hour of climbing, we finally reached the top of the mountain and were surprised by strong winds that we hadn't felt on the way up, since we were protected by the mountain. We took a break there for lunch, explored the area a bit, took some photos, and got ready to head back down and make our way home.

The landscape in this place always catches my attention, especially because it’s one of the highest points in the region where I live.
I hope you enjoyed it, and see you next time.

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