Paraty & Cunha: Private Horseback Ride with Scenic Picnic

4.99

(139 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed was the smell—sort of earthy, like wet grass and leather, mixed with that sharp mountain air you only get up high. Our driver picked us up right in Paraty and the road wound up into Serra da Bocaina, green hills rolling out everywhere. I didn’t expect to climb so high (almost 1,300 meters, our guide said) or that the horses would be so calm about it all. My horse’s name was Lua, which means “moon” in Portuguese—she kept flicking her ears back at me like she was listening in on our conversation.

We started slow—basic riding lessons for beginners (which I needed), then we set off into this private property where everything felt quiet except for birds and the occasional distant cowbell. The guide, Rafael, grew up around here and told stories about how his family used to cross these hills between Cunha and Paraty before there were roads. At one point, he pointed out a tree full of tiny yellow orchids I’d never have noticed. It was humid but not hot, and the wind kept shifting—sometimes you’d catch a whiff of eucalyptus or just plain old horse sweat.

The picnic at the Belvedere is what I still think about—a wooden table under open sky, cheese that tasted like grass and sunshine, bread still warm from someone’s kitchen nearby. We laughed trying to pronounce “queijo minas” properly (Rafael grinned; I probably butchered it). There was bottled water but also juice that tasted almost floral—I wish I’d asked what fruit it was. The view just sat there quietly while we ate: valleys fading into blue haze, nothing moving except shadows from clouds overhead. No rush to finish or go anywhere else.