Indaial

Indaial is a municipality in the state of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil, located in the Middle Itajaí Valley, on the banks of the Itajaí-Açu river and along the BR-470 highway, around 20 kilometres from Blumenau and 160 from Florianópolis, with around 71,500 inhabitants according to the 2022 census. Its settlement began around 1860 with German immigrants, followed by Italians in 1875 and Poles in 1878, and in 1934 it became independent from Blumenau; its name comes from the indaiá, a palm tree that was common in the area at the time of settlement. Among its landmarks is the Ponte dos Arcos, a 175-metre reinforced concrete bridge over the Itajaí-Açu opened in 1926, and part of its territory lies within the Serra do Itajaí National Park, covered in Atlantic Forest. Its main sports venue is the Jorge Hardt Municipal Park, with motocross and karting tracks, a mountain bike circuit, an athletics track and courts, which also hosts FIMI, the city's annual anniversary festival. Indaial was recognised by ACES as American City of Sport 2022, a title that places it within the Brazilian representation of the ACES network.