The Gold Trail (Caminho do Ouro)

The Caminho do Ouro (Gold Trail) is a preserved section of the 18th-century stone road that connected the inland gold mines of Minas Gerais with the port of Paraty. The route features irregular 'pé de moleque' masonry (street child feet) laid by enslaved workers to prevent erosion on the steep coastal slopes. Today, hikers traverse a segment through the dense Atlantic Forest, where the historical stonework remains intact despite the aggressive root systems and high rainfall of the region. The trail provides a direct link between the deep jungle and the colonial architecture of Paraty.

This is Stage 1 of the world-famous Alpe-Adria-Trail. Starting at the dramatic high-alpine amphitheater of the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe (2,369m), the trail drops roughly 1,000 meters of descent into the legendary mountaineering village of Heiligenblut. You traverse the moraines of the Pasterze glacier, cross the dramatic turquoise Sandersee and Margaritzen reservoirs, and follow the Briccius trail past ancient chapels. The scenery transitions from raw, glacial desolation to the lush, flower-filled meadows of the Möll valley.