Morretes
Colonial Riverside Town At The Foot Of The Serra Do Mar, The End Of The Serra Verde Express Train From Curitiba And The Home Of Barreado · Morretes, Paraná
Morretes is a small colonial town on the Nhundiaquara river at the foot of the Serra do Mar, below Curitiba, founded in the early 18th century. Its short historic centre has low painted houses, a church near the river and a line of restaurants with terraces over the water. Most visitors arrive on the Serra Verde Express, the tourist train that follows the old Curitiba to Paranaguá railway down through the Atlantic forest, or drive down the cobbled Estrada da Graciosa. They come to eat barreado, the local dish of beef slow-cooked for many hours in a clay pot sealed with a paste of flour, served with farinha to thicken the broth and a slice of banana. Around lunch come cachaça tastings, banana sweets, river tubing (boia-cross) and a look at the port town of Antonina nearby. It is a very good day out from Curitiba and mainly a weekend place: on a weekday the town is quiet and some restaurants are shut. Few people would travel far just for Morretes.
Centro Histórico, Morretes, PR, Morretes, Paraná, Brazil
The town itself is always open, but its rhythm follows the train and the weekend. The Serra Verde Express has run mainly at weekends and on holidays, with more departures in high season and fewer or none on some weekdays; timetables, classes and even whether the train goes all the way to Morretes change, so confirm the schedule and book before building a trip around it. The train usually leaves Curitiba in the morning and reaches Morretes around lunchtime, which is why the riverside restaurants are packed then and quieter later. Most restaurants serve barreado at lunch, with many closing early in the evening or not opening on quieter weekdays, especially outside summer and school holidays. Craft shops and cachaça stores follow similar hours. The church opens for services and at irregular times. Boia-cross operators run mostly at weekends and in warmer months, and may cancel after heavy rain when the river rises. The Estrada da Graciosa is open to traffic but can close in sections after landslides or for works; confirm before driving it. Rain is frequent all year here.