Exploring Bosque Alemão (the German Forest) with Kids

Bosque Alemão is a really fun adventure to go on with your kids! You follow the trail of Hansel and Gretel through the forest to the witch’s house where you can dress up as a witch and read books with your children! On Saturdays, the witch reads to the kids.  Bosque Alemão is such a fun place to spend part of the day with your kids in Curitiba, Brazil. Here’s some of the fun we had on our trip.

The Trip

Our trip started at the top of the hill at this beautiful church. The church has been turned into part of the park’s memorial to honor the German immigratns who began to settle the city in the 19th century. Our kids spent like 3 minutes there and were ready to go see the water and start on their adventure.

To get to the trail, you must cross a tall bridge and go down a thousand stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, Hansel and Gretel’s path begins.

The railing on the bridge is quite wide, and Nolan almost fell to his death. So be sure to keep your kids near you while taking pictures. (I always think my kids are going to die.)

The view from the top of the bridge is beautiful. You can see the forest and Curitiba.

The story is printed on large plaques along the trail. In this version, a magical bird leads the children to the house. The story is printed in Portuguese. Hector was able to figure a lot of it out, but we didn’t really understand when the kids defeated the witch. I think it was in the picture where smoke was coming out of the house.

Darian thought it was so cool to follow the story and kept running from plaque to plaque.

We arrived at the witch’s house as Hansel and Gretel arrived at the witch’s house in the story.

The house is a library inside, and you get to dress up as witches. It was really fun to be in the house!

At the end of the trail, there is a really cool house… well, front wall of a house. The end of the trail is at the bottom of the hill. The hop-on-hop-off bus has a stop there. If you parked at the top or took the bus, you will need to walk up the sidewalk, which is lined with gorgeous homes. We walked back up the street and ate at the top of the street at an all you can eat buffet.

You can watch it all in our travel video at the top of the page.

Travel Tips

There is a lot of walking, so bring lots of water and snacks for the kids (and you).

We took a stroller on this trip. There are a lot of stairs, so we recommend taking one that is very light weight. We travel with UPPABaby’s G-Luxe stroller because it only weighs 11 pounds, has a carrying strap, reclines, and has an SPF 50+ shade.

Getting There

There are a couple ways to get to Bosque Alemão.

  • You can take the local bus. Kids ride free and adults are  $2.85 Reais.
  • Bosque Alemão is also on the route of the hop-on-hop-off bus.
  • You can arrive there with your rental car or taxi. If your child is 3 and over 30 lbs, we recommend using the Ride Safer because it weighs almost nothing and will fit under your stroller. It is legal and safer than a carseat.

Where to Stay

We booked an apartment on airbnb for Curitiba. For our 2 bedroom apartment in a lovely neighborhood, it costs $3000 Reais. The prices on airbnb are very high, so we sent our own price.

Most apartments are very small. We have loved being able to collapse Nolan’s crib when we don’t use it. I recommend using a portable baby bed that is light weight and can be stored or opened in 15 seconds. We use Guava Family’s lotus crib.

About Adelaide

I love traveling with my husband and two kids. It can be really fun and crazy. We travel at a slower pace–mostly because of me! I love discovering new and interesting things with my kids. I am so grateful to being doing what I do and that you have joined us on our trip!

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