Beach and Rainforest Ride

Introduction
Rio/Sao Paulo Brazil
Beach and rainforest ride in Rio de Janeiro.
Rio de Janeiro is fascinating, known in the world for its rich culture and natural beauty. Rio boasts the famous Sugarloaf Mountain and Christ the Redeemer statue, both UNESCO World Heritage sites.
It is now also an excellent destination for horseback riding.

Accomodation

Camboinhas Beach Pousada
Located less than 50 meters from the beach, the Camboinhas Beach Pousada offers its guests all the comfort combined with the tranquility of a family atmosphere on the beachfront inn.

Fazenda Pao Grande
In the main house of the farm, built in 1800, with many materials imported from Portugal and France. In the 1980’s it underwent restoration, maintaining the initial design, preserving as much as possible the details of the furniture, objects and carpets from the 19th century. The bathrooms continue with the same structure and decoration from the colonial era. Spacious halls and bedrooms feature a collection of period furniture, rugs and rare crockery, among other pieces with great significance.
Every little part of the house tells a story. Several important personalities have passed through it over the years; the most illustrious of them was Princess Isabel in 1883. Auguste Sanit-Hilaire, a French naturalist, visiting the Farm, said: “After three days of travel, we arrived at the most important sugar mill I have seen in Brazil.”

This trip includes and can accommodate special dietary requests.

Riding

Ride on the coast of Niteroi - Rio de Janeiro is justly famous for its stellar scenery. But not many international tourists bother to view it from the perspective across the bay. Which is a shame. Only 13 kilometers separate the wonderful city of Rio de Janeiro from beauties of Niterói. 

Ride on the highlands of Paty Alferes
A bit of history:
The Portuguese royal family moved to Rio de Janeiro with the entire government structure of Portugal. Historians say that between 10,000 and 15,000 people embarked with the Portuguese royal family. British warships escorted the Portuguese ships safely to Brazil. (54 days of travel).
The Orleans and Braganca royal family has its origins in the English and French royal families and ruled Brazil between 1808 and 1889. The Monarchy of Portugal was the political regime that prevailed in Portugal between 1143 and 1910.
During the period they were in Brazil, many nobles built their summer palaces in the highlands near the capital. In one of the most beautiful of these Palaces is the farm that will host us for 3 nights. Today a breeding farm of Manga Larga Marchador (more than 200 horses), the property is not open to tourism and only receives a few private groups per year.
You will have the opportunity to explore the unique and picturesque setting of a famous stud farm. You will see behind the scenes of the stud farm's work.

The Horses – Mangalarga Marchador
The horses are one of the highlights of this ride - the Mangalarga Marchador breed had its origin in the best horses from the Lusitano Alter stud farm that the Portuguese court brought when the Portuguese royal family moved to Brazil in 1808 as result of the Napoleonic Period and the disagreement between France and Portugal over the Continental Blockade.


Trails in the highlands

Nossa Fazenda Vilarejo (Sucupira) – FNV has 180 hectares distributed in areas for the preservation of springs and coffee plantations. One of the few farms that still grows coffee in the region. With its eyes focused on the production of special coffee, the Farm invests in the syntropy model, to establish the bases for its planting in an Agroforestry format, associating the cultivation of typical forest species, such as life cycle trees, in the same management area , along with agricultural crops. They use all available technology to reproduce the perfect functioning of ecosystems, recovering water, forests and soil – a synthesis of nature itself.
Agroflorestal Cafezal: The farm invested in the implementation of thought-out and planned “vegetable gardens”. In addition to the coffee seedlings, many native and fruit trees were planted such as Avocado, Mango, Mangostim, Bananeira, Jamelão, Mutamba and many other species. “We discovered that agroforestry coffee is very special, as it restores the original conditions of coffee cultivation, which is a plant native to African forests. The shade of the trees allows the fruit to develop its full sweet flavor, without burning prematurely under the strong sun.” Our lunch that day will be at the Fazenda's Cafearia, where we will learn about the products selected by the Fazenda and learn about their processes.

Remount of the Brazilian Army – Avelar Instruction Camp - The word coudelaria comes from captain, or more precisely from coudel, which means Cavalry Captain. The term was created in Portuguese lands to designate the head of an establishment where horses of different breeds were bred. One of the best-known stud farms in Rio de Janeiro was installed in the Avelar neighborhood, in Paty do Alferes. The organizations created as Military Remontas comprised Specialized Veterinary Sections directly linked to the Supply Directorate involved with all Military Organizations of the Army that administered an approved animal force ready for use in the country's various security activities. The Avelar Stud Farm was deactivated in 1974.

Itinerary

Day 1: Transfer from Rio de Janeiro–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG) - if requested. Reception at the ranch located in Niterói, 13 kilometers from the city of Rio de Janeiro on the outskirts of the Serra da Tiririca Ecological Park. Presentation of the horses and brief orientation for the next days' ride.
Overnight in Camboinhas Beach Pousada Hotel*

*The hotel is located only 50 meters from the beautiful and peaceful beach of Camboinhas, and just 15 minutes from Itacoatiara beach, chosen by TripAdvisor as the 12th best Brazilian beach.

Day 2: Start of the trail ride in Serra da Tiririca Ecological Park forest, where we will pass through a section covered by the expedition of naturalist scientist Charles Darwin in 1832. After crossing the mountain, we will follow a dirt road, arrive at Praia de Itaipuaçu. After ride on the beach, we stop for lunch and return to the Ranch.
Overnight at the Camboinhas Beach Pousada Hotel.

Day 3: After breakfast head to the Ranch and start riding towards the beach. After ride on the beach, we stop for snacks and lunch, and return to the Ranch.
Overnight at the Camboinhas Beach Pousada hotel.

Day 4: After breakfast, transfer (2h 30m) to the Pao Grande farm in Paty Alferes, in the heart of the old Vale do Café, a mountainous region in the state of Rio de Janeiro, with beautiful landscapes and many stories of Brazil. A journey through time is part of the experience of staying at one of the most extraordinary Brazilian rural properties. In the afternoon we can do a short ride and visit the Pao Grande horse stud farm, which with more than 250 horses (many of them has won several awards).
Overnight at Pao Grande farm in Paty Alferes.

Day 5 & 6: During the next 2 days we will ride for about 4 hours a day, passing through the eucalyptus plantation at Fazenda da Posse; by Vila Rica Farms; Our Aldeia Farm (Sucupira) where we will discover its agroforestry coffee plantation; Fazenda Santa Lúcia, where we cross forest and pasture areas where around 100 breeding mares of Haras Pao Grande cattle live and we will see a lot of Nellore (Brahman) cattle in the pastures (the farm has around 1000 of them) and the Remonta Instruction Field – Avelar of the Brazilian Army.
Overnight at Pao Grande farm in Paty Alferes.

Day 7: Departure after breakfast.

Note - the itinerary maybe changed depending on weather conditions and in accordance with the prevailing conditions by the organizing team.

Rates and Dates for Beach and Rainforest Ride

Dates Note:
This ride is available any date between April and October (expect for the month of July). We need the booking at least 1 month before the date of the ride)

Other Info
Meeting: Rio de Janeiro
Airport: Rio de Janeiro
Transfer: Rio de Janeiro

Climate: