Mentioned by The Guardian as one of the top 10 railway journeys in the world, the scenic ride between Curitiba and Morretes by train is a worthwhile experience to enjoy in Brazil. A 4-hour journey, running 100 km through the Serra do Mar mountains, crossing 13 tunnels and 30 bridges in the middle of Mata Atlântica forest. This attraction is the most visited in the southern state of Paraná after the Iguazu Falls (800 km from Morretes).
Inaugurated in 1885, this railway was projected in Brazil but manufactured in Belgium, as there wasn’t the required technology. It was built as a strategical corridor to keep the economic growth in Paraná pushed by the mate production and to assure a communication channel with the countryside. The construction of this railway was an extremely challenging project and fascinates for its rails being located at 950 meters above sea level in the middle of rainforest, rivers, chasms.
Nowadays, there are only a few railway journeys available for passengers in Brazil. In addition to the lobby of the auto industry in the 1950s, they’re mostly used for cargo transport. This railway, for example, is used to transport cargo to Paranaguá Port.
When to go?
The train departs daily:
- from Curitiba to Morretes at 8h15min
- from Morretes to Curitiba at 15:00h.
On weekends and on summers (from December to February), it’s usually full coinciding with the holiday period and good weather. Buy the tickets as early as possible! On winters (from June to August), it’s normally rainy and there are fewer passengers usually. On weekdays, it tends to be easier to buy tickets. But the trains normally have high occupancy rates anyway. Delays may happen due to the high traffic of cargo trains on the railway.
How to buy train tickets?
The tickets can be bought at the Main Bus Terminal in Curitiba (Rodoferroviária de Curitiba), at the stand of the company Serra Verde Express. There are 4 classes of train tickets, but if you don’t speak Portuguese, only the Executive Service has bilingual tour guides.
- Ordinary ticket (Billhete Trem): R$ 94 BRL
- Touristic Service (Bilhete Trem – Serv. Turístico): R$ 119 BRL/R$ 82 BRL children
- Executive Service (Billhete Trem – Serv. Executivo): R$ 174 BRL/R$ 92 BRL children. The only ticket including a bilingual tour guide.
- Cabin Service (Bilhete Trem – Serv. Camarote): R$ 540 BRL 4 seats/R$ 1080 BRL 8 seats
There’s also an office of Viação Graciosa at the Bus Terminal in Curitiba, where you can buy a bus ticket if you don’t want to repeat the train journey on the return. By bus, it takes about 2 hours. You’ll need your passport when buying a bus ticket!
Originally posted 2017-12-18 12:21:21.
