PAINANI
PAINANI

PAINANI · RUN / LOCAL

47 · São Paulo, Brazil

Parque Ibirapuera

Run the 6 km perimeter loop of São Paulo's main park on dirt, grass and asphalt, or the 3 km lake loop inside it, from the 5:00 gate opening with the city's long-distance runners.

Road runningUrban runningLoop
6 kmDistanceEasy mediumSite gradeSão PauloNearest base

Site grade

Easy mediumFeatured

Flat city-park loops with slight rises and falls on the perimeter, no climbs, and a hard 5:00 to midnight window. The difficulty is traffic: the lake loop is congested from 7:00 to 8:00 and on warm evenings.

The experience

A 6 km perimeter loop on dirt, grass and asphalt, a 3 km asphalt lake loop, and a 1,200 m gravel track under trees, all flat, all inside one fence that opens at 5:00. Distance marks every 100 m on the Cooper track.

The city made the 6 km fence loop official in 2005 with Paul Tergat, Joaquim Cruz and Rosa Mota on hand, and Nike painted the 1.5 km, 3 km and 6 km circuits in 2017 for R$ 750,469.20. Urbia Parques has run the park under a concession from the city since 2019.

Opened on 21 August 1954 for São Paulo's 400th anniversary, the park receives more than 17 million visitors a year according to its concessionaire. The city's 2005 announcement called it the biggest breeding ground of long-distance runners in Brazil.

Where the sources disagreeThe park has hours: the city lists it as open daily from 5:00 to midnight, with gates 5 to 8 closing at 23:00, and hours vary by gate, so check which gate you will leave by. The lake loop is congested from 7:00 to 8:00 on weekdays and worse at weekends and on warm evenings; the Cooper track and the perimeter are the way round it. Bicycles are limited to 20 km/h on the paths and banned from the Marquise and the Cooper track, but they use the perimeter loop, so keep right. Sports are permitted only on the marked running routes, the cycle lanes and the courts. Nothing in the park is a hill; if you need gain, this is not the place.

Trail path

The line
you follow.

StartPortão 3, Avenida Pedro Álvares Cabral, by the Obelisk; any gate worksFinishPortão 3DirectionEither way round the fence. Runners join the lake loop and the Cooper track from inside the perimeter.
  1. 01Portão 3 and the Obelisk
  2. 02Marquise and the museums
  3. 03Lago das Garças
  4. 04Pista de Cooper
  5. 05Praça da Paz
  6. 06Perimeter fence
  7. 07Portão 3

Route sections

01 · The Five O'Clock GatePortão 3 to the Marquise
The gates on the main avenues open at 5:00, and the city's serious runners are already there. Under the Marquise, the long concrete canopy by the museums, bicycles are banned and pedestrians have priority.02 · The Orange LapLago das Garças loop
The 3 km asphalt loop around the lake, painted orange in 2017, is the park's most used path and flat enough for any session. Between 7:00 and 8:00 it is a queue.03 · The 1,200 m TrackPista de Cooper
A dirt and gravel loop under trees with a mark every 100 m and a 300 m extension. Curvy, so ibirapuera.org rates it wrong for hard intervals; bicycles are banned on it.04 · The Volta da GradeThe perimeter fence
Six kilometres along the fence on dirt, grass and stretches of asphalt, with slight rises and falls. It was made official on 23 October 2005, when Paul Tergat and Joaquim Cruz came to run it.

Weather profile

What the sky
is likely to do.

Subtropical city: hot, humid and stormy from December to March, dry and cool from June to August with cold dawns. Summer afternoons bring the storms that flood the low paths; run early.

Season & timing

Managed seasonOpen daily. The city lists 5:00 to midnight for the park, gates 5 to 8 until 23:00; other listings give 5:00 to 23:00 for gates 2, 3, 4, 9 and 10, 5:00 to 22:00 for 5 and 6, 6:00 to 20:00 for 7 and 8. Hours change; check the gate you plan to use.Best windowWeekdays at the 5:00 opening, any month. June to August for cool, dry mornings.SurfacePacked dirt and grass along the fence with asphalt stretches on the 6 km loop; all asphalt on the 3 km lake loop; dirt and gravel on the Cooper trackDirectionEither way round the fence. Runners join the lake loop and the Cooper track from inside the perimeter.

Signature moments

What you will
remember afterwards.

01

The Obelisk in the dark at the 5:00 gate

02

The Marquise before the museums open

03

The lake loop with the towers of Paraíso behind it

04

The 100 m marks on the Cooper track

05

The fence loop when the lake is full

OFFICIAL SINCE

2005

The city made the 6 km fence loop an official running trail

On 23 October 2005 the Prefeitura marked the 6 km route around the park's perimeter as the Trilha do Parque Ibirapuera, with Paul Tergat, Joaquim Cruz and Rosa Mota present, and called the park the country's largest nursery of long-distance runners.

Access & logistics

AccessAvenida Pedro Álvares Cabral, Vila Mariana. Metro and bus lines serve the avenues around the park. Paid parking at gates 3 and 7, run by Urbia.PermitsNone. Free entry. Sports only on the marked running routes, cycle lanes and courts; bicycles at 20 km/h and not on the Marquise or the Cooper track; dogs on a lead.BookingsNone.WaterKiosks in the park; the city lists toilets 5 to 8 open 5:00 to 23:00 and toilets 1 to 3 from 6:00 to 18:00.FoodKiosks in the park and cafés at the museums; everything else on the avenues outside.Mobile coverageFull urban coverage.

Key hazards

  • ▲Congestion on the lake loop, 7:00 to 8:00 and weekends
  • ▲Bicycles on the shared paths at up to 20 km/h
  • ▲Summer afternoon storms
  • ▲Wet dirt and grass on the perimeter after rain
  • ▲Roots and gravel on the Cooper track

SafetyOrientation only. Always use current official maps, alerts and safety guidance. Go at opening, keep right for bicycles, and be out before your gate closes.

Check gate hours with the city →Request this run →

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Official sources

Last verified 2026-09-16 · Record CETC-RUN-047 · Orientation only. Always use current official maps, alerts and safety guidance.

Photograph: CORRETOR-CARVALHO · CC BY-SA 3.0