Búzios Emerências & José Gonçalves Trails Guided Hike

Hike the linked Emerências and José Gonçalves trails in Pau Brasil APA with a Portuguese and Spanish-speaking guide and beach free time.

Getting started

Meet your expert Portuguese and Spanish-speaking guide at the designated starting point for the Emerências Trail within the Pau Brasil APA. After a short introduction to the route linking Emerências and José Gonçalves, you set off on foot along native paths. Have your personal hiking gear ready, as food, drinks, and round-trip transportation to the meeting point are not included.

What to expect

Emerências Trail in Pau Brasil APA

This first section of the route follows the Emerências Trail inside the Pau Brasil Environmental Protection Area, a preserved zone of Atlantic Forest near Búzios. The path moves away from busier tourist spots and into native vegetation and lesser-traveled dirt tracks.

Features

• Hiking Emerências and José Gonçalves in Pau Brasil APA takes you through an environmental preservation area rich in biodiversity, where the Atlantic Forest frames long stretches of the walk. You follow a route that connects two iconic trails, creating a complete forest-to-sea experience.
• Several photo stops at key viewpoints are built into this part of the hike, so you can pause for panoramic views of Búzios, including sea panoramas and layers of forested hills along the Emerências Trail.
• A bilingual Portuguese and Spanish-speaking guide leads the way, setting the pace on the linked trails and sharing context about the Pau Brasil APA and its native vegetation as you move between forest sections and open viewpoints.
• Along these more secluded paths, there is a chance to see marmosets and sloths in their natural habitat, adding wildlife spotting to the physical challenge of the trail.

José Gonçalves and José Gonçalves Beach

The route continues toward José Gonçalves, where the forest track brings you closer to the coastline and down to José Gonçalves Beach. This area marks the transition from shaded trail to open shoreline.

Features

• The linked Emerências and José Gonçalves route can follow flexible options, including a shorter trail with direct access to José Gonçalves Beach if needed, so the hiking section can be adapted before you reach the sand.
• As you approach José Gonçalves, the guide continues to lead in Portuguese and Spanish, manages photo stops at new viewpoints, and keeps the group moving safely along native paths toward the beach.
• Wildlife remains part of the experience in this zone, with another chance to spot marmosets and sloths while crossing remaining forest stretches on the way to the coast.
• Free time at José Gonçalves Beach is included at the end of the guided hiking segment, giving you space to rest, reflect on the forest sections of Pau Brasil APA, and enjoy the quieter setting away from central Búzios.