Millennial Jequitibá-rosa is featured in a park in Rio de Janeiro

Photo: Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil The Três Picos State Park, in Rio de Janeiro, is home to an unusual tree: the jequitibá-rosa, estimated to be over a thousand years old. Popularly known as the giant of the forest, it is located in an area of ​​more than 65 thousand hectares that spreads over parts of the municipalities of Teresópolis, Guapimirim, Nova Friburgo, Cachoeiras de Macacu and Silva Jardim. About 40 meters high, 6 meters in diameter and 19 meters in circumference at the base, the tree lives up to its nickname. To get to it, the visitor needs to go through the Jequitibá-rosa Trail, with a distance of 840 meters. Although considered with easy technical difficulty, there are those who disagree after the hour-long walk. Park Photo: Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil Located in one of the parts of the Atlantic Forest, Três Picos is the largest state park in Rio de Janeiro. In addition to the Jequitibá, visitors can find many springs and rivers, waterfalls, slopes and mountain peaks. Among the main attractions are the Mirante do Capacete, the Matchbox, Pico Menor, Cabeça do Dragão and Bosque da Preguiça. The park’s manager, Alexandre Donato, said that in the municipality of Cachoeiras de Macacu, where the headquarters of Parque dos Três Picos are located, there is the largest portion of the Atlantic Forest. According to Donato, there are records of puma, sloths, armadillos, capybaras and ocelots. The tapir, which was considered endangered, was reintroduced to the environment. Photo: Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil The Boticário Foundation project manager and leader of the Viva Água Baía de Guanabara Movement, Thiago Valente, highlighted the return of the ecological ICMS, received by municipalities that preserve areas of environmental diversity, as a tool that helps in the site conservation. “Brazil has a very interesting legislation in which the municipality receives what we call ecological ICMS. Having protected areas and implementing it generates revenue. The municipality receives resources because it is a use, which they cannot do, it would be almost like a bargaining chip”, he informed. *The reporter and the photographer traveled at the invitation of Fundação Boticário

Agência Brasil