Paraty Brazil by UTMB® 2026

You know those disaster movies where the hero looks at the volcano and thinks “it’ll be fine”? Paraty Brazil by UTMB® is kind of that scene 🌋. Except here, the volcano is 4,850 meters of elevation gain in a tropical forest at 28°C 🌡️. And it turns out you still clicked on this trail/ultra-trail to take part. For that, respect 🫡. This official stop of the UTMB® World Series takes place in September in Paraty, a town nestled between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in the State of Rio de Janeiro (because yes, it’s not just a city), in Brazil 🇧🇷. This landscape is a true gem, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2019. Which means the 200-year-old stones you’re going to step on now have an official certificate to make you fall 😅.

Paraty is the Costa Verde, literally “the green coast” 🌱. A region located between the Atlantic and the Serra da Bocaina, carpeted by what remains of the Mata Atlântica. This Brazilian Atlantic and tropical forest is one of the most threatened on the planet! 🌍 Imagine: it has lost more than 85% of its surface area since the arrival of the Europeans 😬. What remains here is ultra preserved, ultra dense, and ultra humid. Jaguars, spider monkeys, and toucans live here, like in a Netflix documentary 🦜. Soon there’ll be you too—not as the cameraman, but more as a privileged extra trying to run under the rain 🌧️.

Six distances are offered for this weekend, from the “I’ll try my luck” format to the “I settle my affairs before the start” format 😬. The “PTR 108” kicks things off in the muggy heat of the Centro Histórico de Paraty (it sounds cooler in Brazilian): 108 km and 4,850 m D+. You’ll go connect the peaks of the Serra do Mar, the legendary summit of Pedra da Macela, before descending via the Trilha do Ouro 🪙. Know that in the 17th and 18th centuries, these paths were a secret route through which Portugal evacuated Brazilian gold to its ships 🛥️. Today, the mossy, slippery cobblestones have kept zero nostalgia for that era—so yes, they’ll make you slip with the same indifference as in 1720 💀. The “PTR 58” is 58 km and 3,400 m+, a dawn start, with a mandatory headlamp and coffee strongly recommended (or not) ☕. After a plunge into the Serra da Bocaina National Park, runners descend back to sea level, before a second climb: Pedra da Macela, which never lets itself be reached easily 🧗. For more accessible formats, the “PTR 34” with 34 km and 1,150 m D+ and the “PTR 25” with 25 km including 750 m D+ are for those who want to feel the thrill without mortgaging their knees for retirement 👟. These routes offer a total immersion in the Atlantic Forest with river crossings, local wildlife, and breathtaking views over the Bay of Paraty 🤩. The “PTR 17” offers 17 km with 600 m D+ and starts from the Fazenda Bananal for a fast, forest loop 🍃. And the last one, the “RUN 7” with 7 km and 50 m D+, offers a lap of the historic center for those who want the UTMB® experience without sacrificing their calves 🦵.

Paraty Brazil by UTMB® doesn’t play in the minor leagues: it’s an official stop on the UTMB® World Series circuit, the grail for trail runners worldwide 🏅. Concretely, that means every step you take brings you closer—maybe one day—to the start of the UTMB® in Chamonix! The system is simple: you run, you finish, you earn Running Stones: the precious points of the world circuit 🪨. Three stones for the PTR 108, two for the PTR 58, one for the shorter distances 📏. In other words, every kilometer in the Brazilian jungle is a ballot for your next high-altitude adventures 🗳️. The Brazilian forest as a waypoint on the road to Mont Blanc—even your GPS wouldn’t have dared to plot that route 😄.

And when you cross the finish line—because yes, you will make it—Paraty offers you the best of after-races. As one of Brazil’s best-preserved towns, it has no intention of letting you leave too quickly. Hop on a boat to explore the 65 islands of the Bay of Paraty, some with deserted beaches worthy of a screensaver 🏝️. For food lovers in a post-effort caloric shock, a shrimp moqueca will remind you that life is good 🦐. And if you want to push back the return to reality a little longer, the Costa Verde region is full of waterfalls, hiking trails, and fishing villages where time flows at a radically different speed than your race clock 🌊.

So, what are you waiting for? Brazil is just waiting for you to go show off on Paraty’s golden cobblestones! 🏅