Parque Estadual da Ilha do Cardoso

Complexo Estuarino Laguna de Iguape (Laguna de Iguape Estuary Complex), Cananéia- Paranaguá, in the south coast of the State of São Paulo, next to the border between the states of São Paulo and Paraná. The road to arrive there is Rodovia Régis Bittencourt (BR 116) up to Pariquera-Açu. Then Pariquera-Cananéia (SP 226) up to Base de Apoio (Support Base) in the city of Cananéia, at Avenida Wladimir Besnard, s/n, in Morro São João. From there, visitors take boats to Núcleo Perequê, in Ilha do Cardoso.

The island, which covers more than 22,000 hectares, is full of rock coasts, beaches, estuaries, wooden lands, mangroves, rivers, islands and mountains covered with vegetation. A complex ecosystem home to almost one thousand species of plants, already listed. The island is also home to endangered animals such as bugio and mono-carvoeiro, otters, veado-mateiro, jacaré-do-papo-amarelo, among many others. Some of these animals, such as the Lasiurus ebenus bat, which was discovered by researchers in 1994, can be found nowhere in the world but in Ilha do Cardoso. The island is so rich in natural terms that Unesco established that it should be considered Reserva da Biosfera (Biosphere Reserve). With a view to carrying out surveys and protecting all this natural richness, on 03/July/1962, Ilha do Cardoso became a state park, thus taking part of Rede de Unidades de Conservação (Network of Preservation Units) managed by Secretaria do Meio Ambiente de São Paulo (State Department of the Environment), by means of Instituto Florestal (Forest Institute).

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