Serra Verde Express

The railway from Curitiba to Paranaguá, opened in 1885, is one of the great mountain railways of South America. The Serra Verde Express now runs the tourist service down from the Curitiba plateau through the Serra do Mar, in and out of long tunnels, over iron viaducts spanning gorges of dense Atlantic forest, and finally onto the coastal flatlands and into Paranaguá's quiet station. The full descent takes about three hours.

The trip can be done as a day return from Curitiba or one-way from Paranaguá. Sit on the right-hand side going down (left going up) for the long valley views. Different classes of service are offered, from basic to a "Great Class" carriage with food and drink included; the basic option sees just as much. Tickets sell out well in advance for weekends and Brazilian holidays.

things to do sight
A story
When the line opened in 1885 it was an engineering triumph: 110 km of track with 13 tunnels and 30 bridges, descending nearly a kilometre through one of the steepest stretches of the Atlantic rainforest. The chief engineer, João Teixeira Soares, had to invent a system of switchbacks at one point to manage a gradient the locomotives of the time could not handle directly. Most of the original Belgian-built iron viaducts are still in use.