Paraty: Private Horseback Riding & Serra da Bocaina Ranch

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.99 (143 reviews) 99% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/8

Duration4h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · PT

PickupAt your hotel

A working ranch in the mountains, 1,300 meters up, where the guide knows every horse by name

You're picked up from your Paraty hotel and driven 45 minutes into the mountains to a private working ranch at 1,300 meters elevation. After a horsemanship introduction, you ride for 1 hour 45 minutes through the property with a guide who grew up on the land. The experience is reserved for your group alone, includes helmets and water, and returns you to the city center in the late afternoon.

Step-by-step itinerary

Horseback riding at private ranch

Private taxi from Paraty city center
Scenic drive through Serra da Bocaina
Horsemanship introduction and horse connection
1 hour 45 minutes horseback ride
Learn local history and nature insights

The Experience

The taxi climbs out of Paraty toward Serra da Bocaina National Park, and within 45 minutes the air shifts — cooler, thinner, the Atlantic Forest closing in on both sides of the road. By the time you reach the ranch, you're alone with the mountains. No crowds, no other groups waiting at a trailhead, just the property itself: native forest, sweeping views, and a handful of horses that have lived here their whole lives. Your guide was born on this land and still works it. He'll spend the first part of your time showing you how to move around the animals, how to hold the reins, what the horse is actually feeling — the kind of detail that matters if you've never ridden before.

The horseback ride lasts an hour and forty-five minutes, and it happens entirely on private property, which changes the whole rhythm of the thing. You're not following a line of tourists down a marked trail. You're moving at your own pace through the ranch's terrain, with someone who can stop and point out a plant or a view or explain why one horse moves differently than another. First-time riders are genuinely welcome here — the animals are calm and well-cared-for, and the guide's patience with beginners is something people mention in reviews long after they've left. Groups stay small: two to four people maximum, which is why the experience feels like you've been invited somewhere rather than booked into a slot.

The whole thing takes about four hours from pickup at your Paraty hotel to drop-off. You'll wear a helmet, bring water, and need long pants and closed shoes — nothing fancy, just practical. The drive back down gives you time to settle, and by the time you're back in the city, the ranch already feels like somewhere you actually went, not somewhere you visited.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup and drop-off from Paraty city center, a scenic 45-minute drive through Serra da Bocaina National Park, a horsemanship introduction before you ride, 1 hour 45 minutes on horseback across private ranch property, a helmet, bottled water, and insights into local history and nature from your guide.

Good to know

Easy physical levelNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by Raul Sampaio Horses4u

Is this one for you?This works well if you want a riding experience that feels personal rather than crowded, and if you'd rather have someone who knows the land guide you than follow a standard trail — the private property and small group size are what make that possible.