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Yaripo: a indigenous Sacred Natural Site in the highest mountain in Brazil

Tracks
Tully 1
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
1:45 PM - 2:00 PM

Speaker

Dr Erika Fernandes-Pinto
Analista Ambiental
Icmbio

Yaripo: a indigenous Sacred Natural Site in the highest mountain in Brazil

ISE Congress 2026 Abstract

Yaripo, known as Pico da Neblina by non-indigenous people, is the highest point in Brazil, rising 2,995 meters above sea level. Located on the Amazonian border with Venezuela, it stands as an imposing and enigmatic presence. More than a geographical landmark, Yaripo is the dwelling place of spirits and a symbolic axis of the identity, culture, and territoriality of the Yanomami people, who recognize it as a sacred mountain. For decades, access to this area remained restricted until, in 2021, a pioneering ecotourism initiative led by the Yanomami themselves was launched. In August 2025, an intercultural expedition to Yaripo brought together public managers (from the environmental and indigenous areas) and Yanomami leaders from the Maturacá region, including both novice and experienced guides, community representatives, and spiritual masters. The journey, entitled Hamamou (“all together” in the Yanomami language), aimed to promote the exchange of knowledge, assess environmental conditions, and foster dialogue on the conservation of an endemic plant species found only in the region. More than a physical crossing, the trek revealed itself an ancestral journey between worlds and generations, where the mist that cloaks the mountain seems to whisper the stories of spirits and ancestors. The experience also recorded Indigenous perceptions of the impact of illegal gold mining, whose wounds — compared by them to leishmaniasis — scar the sacred land and affect their people. The initiative reinforces the Yanomami commitment to nature conservation, highlighting the importance of ecotourism not only as a strategy for public engagement and income generation but also as a means of territorial protection and cultural valorization. From an integrated ethnoecological approach, it calls for the recognition of Yaripo as a Sacred Natural Site, reaffirming the deep interconnection between culture, nature, and spirituality at the heart of an Amazonian national park.

Biography

Brazilian researcher, public administrator and writer, Bachelor's in Biological Sciences and PhD in Social Sciences. Creator of the Sacred Natural Sites of Brazil initiative and the Cultural Values ​​of Nature YouTube channel. Member of the International Expert Group on Cultural and Spiritual Values ​​of Nature of IUCN.
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