Ilha Grande, Brazil

ILHA GRANDE, BRAZIL | "A Ilha dos Sonhos, The Island of Dreams"

Ilha Grande is the most pristine island in the Atlantic Forest corridor, a 193 square kilometer roadless island off the southern coast of Rio de Janeiro state where the complete absence of motor vehicles, the extraordinary density of the Atlantic Forest covering every hillside to the waterline, and the water color of the transparent bays have made it the most sought-after natural escape in southeastern Brazil. The island was protected from development through most of the 20th century by the presence of a maximum-security prison and a leper colony, and the legacy of that accidental preservation is a landscape of absolute biological completeness that includes wild howler monkeys, nesting sea turtles, and over 200 species of birds in a single 30-kilometer walk along the Pico do Papagaio trail.

The colors are the specific palette of tropical island perfection: the extraordinary emerald and aquamarine of the Lagoa Azul lagoon where the seafloor is visible at 10 meters depth, the deep green of the Atlantic Forest descending to the white sand of Lopes Mendes, and the warm amber of the sunset over the Costa Verde from the Abraão village waterfront as the fishing boats return in the last light.