Serra Fina – Brazil

See all the images here.

"Serra Fina" is a mountain crossing in Brazil that can be translated to "slim mountain range". That's because the mountains that it crosses have trails that are very high and narrow, with a small abysm on both sides. Located on a 3-State border: Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Serra Fina is considered by many the most difficult mountain crossing in Brazil. This is a 4 to 5-day hike is challenging due to the high altitude and lack of water sources - meaning that depending on the season you go, you need to carry up water for the first 3 days before you reach a source of water.

On the trip with me were Arthur Simões and Zé Ricardo Pocholo, both very experienced travelers. Our plans were to make the crossing on 4 days and as it was mid-September, each of us had to carry at least 9 liters of water uphill. That doesn't seem much, but considering all the other stuff, 9kg makes a big difference.

Also, remember that camera gear is also very heavy and when you're by your own for days you need to have doubles or triples of everything - at least 3 batteries, 3 memory cards and so on. And this time I've given up on the tripod.

First day we've started early and I'd say was the toughest day because we had the biggest accumulated altitude. I think that's actually ideal, because it's the day that you're the most rested, even though it was hard.

We also regretted not sharing a tent; instead each of us carried its own tent what also helped to build up more weight in our backpacks.

The views speak by themselves, the place is truly amazing and the trail is pretty clear for the most part, although there were sections that the bush grew over and it was hard to go across. This was 2014 guys, I had no GPS at that time!

Was it hard? Yes, it was. Is it the hardest in Brazil? Well, I really don't know, there are some other trails I know are very challenging, like the Monte Roraima's one that is also a pretty steep track ant that I haven't done yet.