Guaraú is a neighborhood in Peruíbe – SP. Less than 3 hours from the city of São Paulo, where you still find a lot of preserved nature.

Everyone knows that a walk in the Atlantic Forest means excellent opportunities to see and photograph not only birds, but also insects, flowers, spiders, plants and landscapes – with any luck, even amphibians, reptiles, snakes or mammals.

In addition to its privileged location, Guaraú, the Mochileiros Hostel has several advantages, such as:

– Maintains birds feeders with fruits and drinking fountains. For those who does not know yet, you will be able to observe the birds closely and make great photos of various species such as: (write here the most common ones that appear). The feeders are located between branches and vines, so people can take photos without the drinkers or fruits appearing. Between June and August is the time when the feeders are most visited.

– Is located in the middle of the neighborhood. You don’t have to travel long distances to start birdwatching. Several walks/trails are made by foot, leaving the hostel and walking through the streets of the neighborhood, which has several places with trees and vegetation of the Atlantic Forest. One of the times I went, while having my breakfast, I decided to take a look at the street and saw a hawk (falcão-relógio) flying low, less than four meters from the ground, running away from a great kiskadee (bem-te-vi).

– Belongs to the biologist Fábio Donizette, better known as Fábio Barata (nickname from the college days). Fábio is a herpetologist, that is, he specialized in amphibians and reptiles, but a few years ago he got to know the world of birdwatching and now he has become an expert guide. The great advantage of taking a tour with a local resident guide is that he monitors the region, is always update with the news, climate, and knows which hot-spots to find birds.

– Guaraú beach and its way, in the middle of the sandbanks, with the mountains in the background, make up scenarios that produce beautiful landscape photos.

– Small waterfalls and rivers with crystal clear and cold are also part of the attractions.

– Fábio organizes pelagic tours (boat trips to see the sea birds), which use to be quite successful in the birdwatching community.

– Guaraú is a safe, quiet neighborhood where everyone knows each other. Or rather, we can say that Fábio is known to everyone and gets along with everyone. Another advantage of taking the tour in Guaraú is this feeling that you are contributing to the area preservation. You stay at a hostel of someone who lives in the city, eat at local restaurants, shop at the bakery and mini markets.

– Thanks to Fábio and Mochileiros Hostel, today everyone in the neighborhood knows what birdwatching is and learned not to kill more snakes (instead, when one appears in a yard or inside a house, they call Fábio and he will capture to take it to a safe place), and in winter time many residents make feeders in their backyards.

– Guaraú is one of the small paradises on Earth, one of my favorite places in the Atlantic Forest. If all the advantages of the place were not enough, Fábio provides a service, at the same time, warm and professional. He is a friendly, pleasant person, who does not bring noise or any problem to the tour. He knows how to talk about many subjects, or if you prefer, he knows how to respect silence and moments of pure contemplation of nature. Guaraú is a place to go several times, I highly recommend the tour.

By Claudia Komesu – editor of Virtude-ag.com