Exploring Brazil’s deserted Santa-themed amusement park

While driving through Brazil towards Rio de Janeiro, you may come across an unsettling sight: a forgotten group of Santas, abandoned and surrounded by tropical foliage.

Take a closer look, and you’ll notice these Santa figures aren’t quite as lonely as they seem.

Nearby, you’ll find a weathered sleigh, crumbling reindeer, and remnants of candy canes, rusted slides, and a spooky, decaying house.

Welcome to Park Albanoel, located in Itaguaí, Brazil – a once vibrant Christmas theme park now left to decay.

The park was conceived by politician Antonio Albano Reis, affectionately known as the 'Santa Claus of Quintino' for his annual tradition of dressing up as Santa each Christmas.

His vision was to create a sprawling complex with multiple themed zones covering over 30 million square meters, but only the Santa-themed area was ever finished.

After Reis tragically passed away in a car accident in 2004, Park Albanoel was shut down and slowly began to deteriorate.

Years later, British teacher Christopher Jones and a group of friends were driving from Rio to Paraty when they stumbled upon the eerie scene of abandoned Santas.

Jones, an avid photographer, captured a series of haunting images that showcased the park's eerie ambiance. He recalls the unsettling experience in an interview with Dinogo Travel.

A haunting sight

Stepping out of the car and cautiously approaching, Jones and his friends were taken aback by the scene before them.

'It’s this massive site, completely exposed to the road,' Jones remembers. 'There was only a tiny wall, maybe a foot or two high, and everything else was open. Behind it, there was some sort of large house, but the front yard was wide open, completely deserted.'

Visiting the park felt like stepping into a dream, where the usual associations with Christmas – joy, rebirth, and celebration – clashed with the eerie, unsettling atmosphere around them.

'Christmas is supposed to be full of happiness, right? Full of cheer,' Jones reflects. 'But here, everything is cracked and covered in mold.'

'We couldn’t help but be captivated by it all.'

Jones notes that the park’s stunning natural surroundings only amplified the surreal feeling.

'The park is set in a steep valley, with a breathtaking waterfall in the distance,' says Jones. 'But because it was so far away, it was hard to capture it all in one shot.'

Certain features of the park made a particularly lasting impression.

'The sight of Santa Claus inside what looked like a burnt-out helicopter was one of the most bizarre,' Jones remembers.

Park Albanoel appeared to be completely abandoned.

'If you look inside the structures, peering through the broken windows or doorways, you’ll find shattered Christmas statues and eerie remnants,' Jones describes.

'It didn’t seem like anything had been removed. Some things had simply crumbled and were left behind, discarded inside,' he adds.

The group hesitated to venture deeper into the park, unsure of what unsettling discoveries might await them.

'We didn’t want to venture too far into the park, just in case,' Jones recalls. 'We stuck to the edges, but who knows what could be hidden deeper inside?'

Urban exploration

Back in the UK, Jones edited the photos he took and uploaded them to his Flickr page, desaturating the images and enhancing the red tones to highlight the eerie atmosphere.

Unlike other famous abandoned sites around the world, Park Albanoel remains relatively unknown internationally, with limited information and even fewer photos available online.

As a result, it’s often Jones' haunting photos that surface on social media. They’ve been shared by notable figures, including Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro on Twitter.

'It’s a place that not many people even know exists, let alone have visited to capture it on camera,' says Jones.

Years later, the unexpected journey still lingers in Jones' mind.

'It’s unforgettable, isn’t it? Visually, it’s absolutely striking,' he reflects.