Discover Morretes, a romantic historic city in Paraná – 11/13/2023 – Tourism

In travel, as in life, some of the best things happen by surprise. A small deviation from the route can mean a great discovery, one that will stay with us forever. The discovery of Morretes, a small historic city in Paraná, 70 km from Curitiba and 410 km from São Paulo, is certainly one of them.

The reader will forgive me for my use of the first person. The report in chronicle form will justify itself, I hope, throughout the next paragraphs. I believe it is the best way to record the double discovery: of Morretes and of something personal in the city.

On one of the many trips made by car between Porto Alegre and São Paulo, round trip, I thought about taking the route from Estrada da Graciosa to Paranaguá, as I was always attracted by the signs that indicated it along the Régis Bittencourt highway, between Curitiba and border between Paraná and São Paulo.

A friend gave me a tip: Paranaguá is cool, but it’s also a bigger, less touristy city. The best places to visit are the historic cities of Morretes and Antonina, which are on the way. In fact, Estrada da Graciosa ends in Antonina, before Paranaguá.

The three cities are located within the Great Atlantic Forest Reserve, in Serra do Mar, which occupies a large part of the states of Paraná and São Paulo, as well as parts of Santa Catarina.

Researching them, my wife, who accompanied me on some of the trips, discovered that Morretes is prepared to receive tourists, and there is an old inn called Hotel Nhundiaquara, on the banks of the river of the same name, which has been in operation since 1945 and which before that it had been a casino, a school, a hosiery factory and even a spiritualist center.

On the hotel’s website, there is a “History of the Porch Family”. Like this? I was unaware of the existence of relatives in Morretes, especially with this historical perspective, although I was aware that in the capital of Paraná there is a distant branch of the family. Curiosity increased.

Reservation sites reported that vacancies at this historic hotel were sold out. There, however, we discovered that some older rooms were vacant. We stayed in a room with high ceilings, overlooking the beautiful Nhumdiaquara River.

Please ensure that the reader does not understand the report as an advertisement for the hotel. There are others in the city, presumably as good as this one. We were drawn to him first by the story, then by the family history. It was, therefore, a very personal choice. Hence the use of the first person.

Setting up base in Morretes, a city founded in 1733, currently with around 17 thousand inhabitants, you can go to Antonina and Paranaguá easily and quickly. Morretes, therefore, is also a strategic point for getting to know the region.

First, however, it was necessary to face the Estrada da Graciosa, with its challenging curves, the mud caused by the works along its length, the beautiful cobblestones, the views of Serra do Mar.

It is an unforgettable experience in itself. But we were lucky to get through it before the rain arrived. It doesn’t seem like a viable path after a few drops of rain, the mud from the works mixing with that running down the slopes.

It is not the only possible path. There are other roads for those with a car, and an attractive train ride, which leaves Curitiba towards Morretes, a journey that lasts more than four hours.

In conversation with the current owner of the Nhundiaquara Hotel, a distant cousin, he showed me a family tree that he ordered from a historian. In this tree, spread across a long panoramic roll, the branch I knew of the family was isolated, in the lower left corner.

I filled in some gaps in this branch with a pencil and discovered that the root of the surname probably comes from the matriarch, Maria da Glória, who liked to sit on the porch of her house in Guarda, in Portugal. It was like a trip to the beginning of the 19th century and the origins of the surname Alpendre.

Despite the rain that fell lightly and incessantly throughout the city, we managed to get to know Morretes well, its romantic air, the beauty of the mansions on the riverbank, the Ponte Velha, the train station, the charm of the tables under the trees, in short, postcards of a beautiful city, which if it were in Europe would receive thousands of tourists a day.

The lunch options are vast. Almost all the mansions in the center, on the riverbank, including the hotel’s, have become restaurants, where you can eat the region’s typical dish, barreado. Basically, it’s a handful of beef cooked for eight hours or more and mixed with cassava flour starch.

The presentation of the dish is a performance, in which the waiter mixes and practically turns the dish over our heads, causing some fright, mitigated by the confidence with which he executes the movements.

Nothing happens. The food sticks to the plate with impressive firmness. I think the cornstarch will stick to the stomach too, but after a while everything harmonizes and we can enjoy a great dish while watching the raindrops ripple the reflection in the river.

We can mix the meat with rice too. It’s delicious. And taste the seafood that is served as a whole. It’s a great experience.

After lunch, several options are available. One of them is to take a walk along the riverbank, crossing the two bridges, the old and the new, that limit the city center. The beauty of the city is then revealed from various angles, whatever the weather conditions.

Another is to venture through the various parks and trails in the region, including those at Pico do Marumbi State Park and Pau Oco State Park, from where you have beautiful views of the region, including some beautiful waterfalls.

Spending three to five days in Morretes, with or without visits to Antonina or Paranaguá, is an excellent vacation option, whether to rest or contemplate natural and historical beauties, or to venture into nature or have a chill down your spine at the presentation of the barreado.