Pico da Neblina

Pico da Neblina National Park was created in 1979 at the north-western tip of the state of Amazonas, on the border with Venezuela, and protects some 22,000 km² of the Serra do Imeri. Within it rises the Pico da Neblina which, at about 2,995 metres, is the highest mountain in Brazil, followed very closely by Pico 31 de Março. The name alludes to the almost permanent mist that wraps the summit and that for decades delayed its identification as the country's highest point.

The massif forms part of the Guiana Shield, one of the oldest geological formations on the planet, and its relief of rock walls and plateaux is akin to the Venezuelan tepuis. That isolation at altitude, on a base of lowland Amazon rainforest, has generated a complete gradient from humid forest to the shrubby and herbaceous vegetation of the summits, with a notable degree of endemism in plants and amphibians.

The park largely overlaps the Yanomami Indigenous Territory, and that dual status has shaped its management: for years access was closed, and its reopening to mountaineering has been done through a model of guided visits agreed with the Yanomami communities, who act as guides and porters and receive the income. The region has also suffered pressure from illegal gold mining, one of the gravest problems in Yanomami territory in recent decades.