one of the youngest state parks in rio de janeiro, parque estadual do mendanha was officially established on august 22, 2013, due to its high concentration of biodiversity, and rich native forestry found within its boarders.

now under full protection, the park has joined the iconic parque national da tijuca and the parque estadual da pedra branca, as a recognized site of environmental conservation within the rio de janeiro metropolitan area.

hanging on to the western boarder of the city, and spanning a considerable 4,400 hectares, the park takes up more than just a portion of the municipality of rio de janeiro, as it reaches into the municipalities of adjacent nova iguaçu and mesquita.