Trilhas de Longo curso: valorização da paisagem, geodiversidade e geoturismo.

Abstract

Long-distance trails have been presented as an important tool for the connection between UC, contributing to environmental protection, and to generating employment and income for local communities, through tourism. When prepared with the appropriate interpretive means, trails can be a good alternative for environmental education and popularization of knowledge related to Earth sciences. Despite these benefits and those related to individuals' physical and mental health, in Brazil there is still no culture of long walking practices. Given the Brazilian potential, mainly for ecotourism, adventure tourism and geotourism, the importance of better planning and preparing spaces for the implantation and maintenance of long-haul trails. Thinking about the need to conserve geopatrimony, which has been threatened in different ways, especially in the Campos Gerais do Paraná region, a questionnaire was applied to understand the perception of people who take long-distance hikes in regarding the valorization of geodiversity. The data obtained reveal that the profile of the hikers is that of adults between 33 and 47 years of age, with undergraduate or graduate degrees, who are motivated by adventure and knowledge of the landscape. The desirable infrastructure on the trails is the signage and place to stay overnight, and the routes most cited are the Serra do Mar do Paraná trails and the Petrópolis- Teresópolis and Vale do Pati crossings. Elements that stand out in the landscape refer to altitude, water courses, vegetation, and rocks. The beauty of the diversity between plains and mountains landscapes is also mentioned, and that the interpretative means make a positive difference in your experience, although most of the places visited do not have such means. The ten most cited trails in this research were described with emphasis on aspects of geodiversity. A long-distance trail proposal in the Campos Gerais do Paraná region is presented, aiming at the territorial development and use of the landscape potential and its functional, aesthetic, scientific / didactic, cultural and economic values. Education for the conservation of geodiversity and enhancement of the landscape can be facilitated through long-distance trails in the region, relating natural and cultural heritage in an inseparable way.