Pico da Neblina

The highest point in Brazil (and in South America east of the Andes) is not in a place one would expect. Rather than being in the eastern Brazilian Highlands, it hides in the Amazon Rainforest just shy of the Venezuelan border. As its name ("Mist Peak") suggests, it is usually covered by clouds. These facts combined with its remote location in poorly-explored or controlled areas contribute to the peak's late non-native discovery in the 1950s.

The local Yanomami people had previously known about Pico da Neblina for over a thousand years, calling it Yaripo ("Home of the Winds") and considering it sacred. It is disputed who else first saw it, with many Brazilians maintaining that airline pilot Mário Jucá spotted it from a Panair do Brasil flight sometime in the 1950s. However, botanist Basset Maguire and ornithologist William H. Phelps also saw the mountain on a 1954 expedition from Venezuela. Initially, it was unknown in which country it was because the area was not properly surveyed. A 1962 border survey clarified that it was in fact in Brazil by 687 meters (2,254 feet). In 1965, the peak was first summited by the Brazilian Army, and it was determined that it was the highest point in the country. Previously, it was believed that Pico da Bandeira in the Brazilian Highlands held that honor.

As Pico da Neblina's renown grew and more outsiders came to the Yanomami's territory in search of natural resources, more people came to the area to climb the mountain. However, this caused environmental issues such as littering and social problems like alcohol and drugs. In addition, the Yanomami have also been hard hit by other unrelated impacts of non-native contact, including violence with miners, water pollution from mining, and diseases such as COVID-19. Consequentially, at the request of the Yanomami themselves, the Brazilian government closed Pico da Neblina National Park to visitors in 2003. It reopened in 2022 under indigenous management and with local guides.