Amazing trip by train from Morretes city to Curitiba, through Serra do Mar
Morretes City
After leave
the Ilha do Mel (Honey
Island) I’ve taken a lift to Morretes city with some friends I had met in the
island. The first thing I’ve done when I’ve arrived in the city was to buy the
tickets to the train from Morretes to Curitiba. As in the station there is no
place to store the luggage, I’ve asked the tickets seller if I could store my
luggage in her office while I would have a walk in the city. I had lunch. Barreado
is a typical dish in Morretes, compounded by meat prepared with cassava flour,
but I didn’t try it. It was not because I have not wanted, but it was because I
had not known about this dish. At first, Morretes was not in my route. My main
destination was to Ilha do Mel, and as I intended to return to Curitiba by
train, I’ve only known about Morretes in Ilha do Mel, when I asked to the owner
of the hostel about it, and he had informed me that I had to take the train in
Morretes. So, I have not have time to research about this city, and nor about
the typical food from there.
Morretes is an interesting city,
typical environment of a small town. It was founded in 1721, and it is located
in the Serra do Mar, between the coast and Curitiba.
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| Morretes City |
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| Morretes Historic Centre |
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| Historic Centre |
In the photo below, there is the
home where Antônio Vieira dos Santos had lived and died. He was a Portuguese
historian naturalized Brazilian, that was the author of the Chronological Topographic
Historic Memory and Descriptive about Morretes’s Village and about Real Village.
He is also considered as the father of the history of Paraná state.
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| Antônio Vieira dos Santos's Home |
After a delicious lunch in one of
the restaurants in the centre of the city, I have had a walk in the Historic
Centre of the city. Near from the Nhundiaquara river (photos below), I have sat
in one of the little benches under the shadow of the trees for drinking my
coconut water and looking upon the landscape. It was a moment of rest after a vigorous
week in Ilha do Mel... hehehe.
In the tupi-guarani tongue,
“Nhundia” means fish, and “quara” means hole, so, hole of the fish.
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| Nhundiaquara River |
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| Nhundiaquara River |
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| Nhundiaquara River |
Trip by Train
Prices: HereTrip Duration: 3h.
Departure time from Curitiba: 8h15h
Departure time from Morretes: 3h p.m.
Cities where the train passes by: Morretes, Piraquara and Curitiba.
As seen in the site, the trip from
Morretes to Curitiba is cheaper than Curitiba to Morretes. The cheapest ticket
is the Economic class, that is R$50,00. Nevertheless, for this class, you
travel with the back to the way, besides you don’t have a guide to inform about
the places along the tour. I’ve bought the Touristic class ticket, that costs
RS 72,00. For this class, the benches are facing forward, it is served some
snack and there is a tourist guide in the train talking about facts of the
train building and its railway and giving some information about the region of
Serra do Mar.
When the trip is from Morretes to
Curitiba, the best place to sit is on the right side of the wagon, because on
this, the vision of the main points along the way is better. For who makes the
tour from Curitiba to Morretes, the better visibility is on the left side. When
I was buying my ticket, I asked for the right side on the wagon, but the ticket
seller has said to me that the definition of the place to sit was defined
automatically, so, she could not choose it. As my ticket was for the left side
and the wagon was not crowded, I have asked for the guard of the train if I
could change to the right side, that was vacant. Some people did the same.
Finally, as there were few people in the wagon, everybody have changed the side
according to the side that the attractions appeared. Something important to be
taken in account is that for this tour, it is better to do it in sunny days,
because the fog won’t permit a good visibility of the landscape. I was lucky,
because after some cloudy days in Ilha do Mel, the day I’ve made this tour was
sunny.
The company responsible for this
tour is Serra Verde Express. But
on its site, the Online selling is not available yet. Thus, the purchasing of
the tickets has to be made on the station, or you can make a call in the phones
available on the site.
During the way, there are some
trains operated by ALL (América Latina logística, that means Logistic Latin
America) that make the cargo transport, and is responsible for the railway
maintenance.
Building's History of the railway
This
railway building was begun in 1880, and it last 5 years. Its extension is of
110 Km. The reason for this building was to link the coastal cities to
Curitiba, besides of permitting the transport of grains from the countryside to
the Paranaguá Port, that is the largest grain port in Brazil.
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| Train crossing Serra do Mar |
Main places where the train passes by Serra do Mar
The most preserved portion of Serra do Mar is on Paraná state, and the train passes by this region.
Along the way, it is possible to see valleys, brooks, bridges and 13 tunnels among the stunning nature. The sequence of the main points along the railway from Morretes to Curitiba are: Parque Estadual Marumbi station, Carvalho viaduct, São João Bridge, Cadeado Sanctuary, Véu de Noiva Waterfall, túnel do diabo (Evil tunnel), Ipiranga dam, Caiguava reservoir, Roça Nova Tunnel and Piraquara station.
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| Entering in Serra do Mar |
Carvalho Viaduct
The Carvalho viaduct is on a cliff. When the train passes
by this, there is a impression that it is fluctuating.
Near from the Véu de Noiva station, there is the waterfall with the same name, that is a waterfall of the Ipiranga river.
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| Véu de Noiva Waterfall |
Rio Ipiranga Dam
It was built in order to generate electricity, but as it was not viable, nowadays this dam is used as a reservoir of the Marumbi hydroelectric.
Caiguava Reservoir
Its
operation began in march 8th in 1979, and it was the larger
reservoir of Paraná, in order to provide the water supply to the metropolitan
region of Curitiba. Its storage capacity is of 23 billions liters of water and
it also controls the flow of Iguaçu river (Source: SANEPAR -
Sanitation Company of Paraná).
The chimney in the photo belongs to
a pump house submerged in the reservoir. In the past, these pumps were used in
the water supply of Curitiba.
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| Caiguava Reservoir |
Leaving the Serra do Mar, the train
has passed by the Roça Nova tunnel, the 13º one, that is the largest tunnel in
the way.
Before arriving at Curitiba, the
train has passed by a region with wide pasturages, where there are also the sources
of Piraquara, where emerges the Iguaçu river, that crosses the Paraná state to
forms the stunning Iguaçu falls. For this reason, in this region, it is not
allowed the installation of pollutant industries.
It is possible to perceive the arrival
at Curitiba because of the urban environment (I’ve felt also due to the
decrease in the temperature). Curitiba is the coldest capital of Brazil, and it
is due to its altitude of 889 m.
This tour by train is amazing,
because it is possible to cross Serra do Mar, smell the pure air of the rainforest,
see breathtaking landscapes, and also learn facts about the region and the
building of the railway.
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