The best hikes in Ilhabela, from the easiest to the toughest
There is one fact about Ilhabela that changes how you plan the trip: about 85% of the island is a state park, closed Atlantic Forest where no street, power pole or subdivision gets in. Translated into your itinerary: most of this place can only be known on foot. We live here, have been hosting travelers for ten years and send people onto these trails every week, so this guide says what the brochures do not: how tiring each one really is, which one requires a guide, which one works with kids and where the borrachudo charges its toll.
About it, by the way, the warning comes right at the start: the borrachudo is a tiny fly that lives where the water is clean, which means the whole island. The bite does not hurt at the time and itches for days. Reapplied repellent is trail equipment as mandatory as water. That said, the trails, in order of effort.
Cachoeira dos Três Tombos: the front door
The shortest on the list: 720 meters round trip, starting near Feiticeira beach, in the island’s south, with steps, handrails and bridges. There are three falls in the same complex, the first about 14 meters with a good swimming hole, the tallest at 21. It works with kids, with grandparents and with anyone who wants to dip a toe into the idea of hiking before facing something bigger. Go early to get the pool empty.
Água Branca trail: the classic forest walk
Self-guided, free and starting at the state park gatehouse, at the beginning of the road that crosses to the ocean side. It is about 4 km round trip along the Água Branca stream, passing five swimming holes with names and personalities: Poço da Pedra, da Escada, da Ducha, do Jequitibá and do Jabuti. The difficulty starts light and grows slowly as you advance, so each group chooses how far to go. There are toilets, a shower and parking at the entrance. It is the trail we most recommend for families and for the first day of a trip, when the body is still in city mode.
Cachoeira do Gato trail: easy to walk, hard to reach
The walk itself is gentle: 2 km through the forest, 30 to 45 minutes each way, with bridges and handrails, ending at a rock wall with a drop of around 40 meters. The detail is that it starts at the corner of a bay on the island’s ocean side, the one at Castelhanos, so access depends on a jeep along the park road or a speedboat. In practice, it is the mandatory complement for anyone spending the full day at that beach: without the waterfall, the trip stays half done.
The standard reward of the island’s trails: cold water at the end of the path. Photo: Iuri Bertolini, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Bonete trail: the crossing that became legend
The classic of classics: about 16 km between Ponta da Sela, where the southern road ends, and the caiçara village of Bonete, in 4 to 6 hours of up and down with swims at the Laje and Areado waterfalls along the way. Moderate for anyone who walks regularly, heavy for anyone who does not, and rewarding for everyone who arrives. The right way to do it is to sleep in the village and come back by speedboat the next day. The stretch by stretch walkthrough, with distances, water points and common mistakes, is in our guide to the Bonete trail.
Baepi peak: the view that justifies the trembling knees
The hardest on the list and the one with the most generous view. Baepi stands at 1,048 meters, and the trail climbs that almost without a break: count 2h30 to 4 hours up, depending on fitness, and another 1h30 to 2 hours down. From the top, the São Sebastião channel appears in full, with the mainland on the other side and the island unfolding in green hills down to the sea.
Here there is no clever choice without a guide: the trail sits inside the park and requires an accredited guide, a rule born from the number of people who have gotten lost on it. Island agencies organize the climb with early departures. Carry more water than you think you need, real food and a jacket: the summit has its own climate. It is a clear-day trail; climbing Baepi in the mist is doing viewpoint effort to see the inside of a cloud. If views are your fuel, complete the repertoire with the guide to Ilhabela viewpoints.
Bonus: the trail that fits every body
Near the Parque Municipal das Cachoeiras there is a route that deserves a mention for a different reason: it was the first trail in Brazil adapted for wheelchair users, with ramps from the entrance to the water and controlled gradients, plus adapted bathrooms. From there you can also reach the Poço do Furado swimming hole by a short stretch, 570 meters round trip. It is not the island’s most spectacular trail; it is the most important one, because it opens the forest to people who are almost never invited in.
The kit that works for all of them
The backpack changes little from one trail to another, so it pays to standardize. Water at the rate of one liter per hour and a half of walking, plus a little more. Repellent reapplied after every swim, because a waterfall washes off the protection along with the sweat. Broken-in sneakers with grippy soles: a new blister on an old trail is a rookie classic. A light rain jacket all year round, because the hills manufacture clouds without consulting the forecast. A real snack on routes above two hours, cash for the accesses that depend on a boat or a jeep, and the map downloaded offline, since the phone signal gives up at the first forest bend. Finally, the item nobody lists: slack in the schedule. A hike with a hard finish time is a hike done halfway.
How to choose yours
- First day of the trip or a mixed group: Água Branca or Três Tombos.
- A full day of adventure with a beach in the middle: jeep to the ocean side and the Cachoeira do Gato trail.
- The complete experience, with an overnight stay and caiçara culture: the southern crossing.
- The physical trophy and the best view: Baepi, with a guide and a clear day.
If your trip is short, you can fit one light trail and one heavy one into a 5 day itinerary; the island’s overall layout, with beaches, viewpoints and the historic center, is in the guide to things to do in Ilhabela.
When to go and the rules of the game
The dry season, May to August, is the golden season for trails: firm mud, low rivers, fresh air and the cleanest light of the year for the views. April, September and October come right behind. Summer demands flexibility: afternoon rain is routine, and a wet trail in the hills is an invitation to a twisted ankle. If it rained hard, swap the trail for another plan: the island has a plan B for rainy days, and the guide to the best time to visit Ilhabela shows the whole year month by month. Winter, by the way, is a badly kept secret around here, and we make the case for the season in Ilhabela in winter.
The usual rules, which the park takes seriously: entry hours, trash back in the backpack, no loud music and no leaving the marked trail. And our own rule, from people who have seen it go wrong: tell someone your plan before entering the forest, even on the busiest trail.
The base between one trail and the next
Hiker’s legs ask for a base that cooperates. Ours is in Ilhabela’s historic center, on the channel side, near the ferry: Hostel da Vila, the eco lodge our team has run since 2016, with 8,000 m² of Atlantic Forest inside the property itself, which means waking up to the same wildlife you will hear on the trail. The perfect cycle of a hiking day ends there: the 32°C heated pool for the legs, dinner and music at Floresta Bar for the rest. The week’s program goes out on our Instagram.
Ilhabela keeps the best of itself behind an hour of climbing, and that is what saved it from becoming a continuous strip of high-rises. Pick one trail from this list for your next morning on the island; if it is your first, start with Água Branca and let the forest present its credentials.