A State Park since 1962, Ilha do Cardoso protects one of Brazil’s largest continuous stretches of Atlantic Forest. Simple wooden and masonry buildings define its caiçara villages, alongside rustic inns, piers, a visitor center, a caiçara museum, lookout points, and other structures designed to blend with the surrounding landscape. Beaches, mangroves, restinga, and forest trails add to the island’s rich mosaic of ecosystems.