Pico do Papagaio, Ilha Grande

Thrilling experience, very difficult but there's no turning back once you start. Take plenty of water, food and layers for when you get to the top (extremely cold). Views are great at sunrise. Enjoy!

Such amazing views. The hike is tough (like really tough) but it’s worth it. I think anyone with a good level of fitness and determination can do it. Lots of people start the hike at 2 or 3 am (depending on how fast you are) to catch sunrise but we got to the start of the path in town for about 8am and arrived at the top just before 11am. We ate and headed back down about 11:45 and was faster going down arriving back into town around 13:45. We did it on our own and it was absolutely fine, keeping our eyes out for snakes etc. Many people do the sunrise hike at night with a local guide! Whatever time you go the views are amazing. There are signs going up but you must stay vigilant but some are hidden and there are several occasions where there were multiple paths and the faintest of arrows scratched into a rock to show which way was the actual path.