Chapada dos Guimarães

Chapada Dos GuimarãEs National Park, Created 1989, On Sandstone Escarpments Above Cuiabá · Chapada dos Guimarães, Mato Grosso

Chapada dos Guimarães is a sandstone plateau about an hour north of Cuiabá, the capital of Mato Grosso, where red cliffs rise abruptly from the lowlands and the Cerrado savanna gives way to canyons and waterfalls. The national park, created in 1989, is best known for the Véu de Noiva, the Bridal Veil, a waterfall of about 86 metres dropping from the cliff edge into a forested bowl, seen from a viewpoint a short walk from the visitor centre. Other trails lead to a chain of smaller falls with swimming pools, the eroded rock towers of the Cidade de Pedra, and caves such as the Aroe Jari. The small town of Chapada dos Guimarães, with its colonial church, is the base, and the Mirante do Centro Geodésico nearby is billed as the geodesic centre of South America, a claim more poetic than precise. Most visitors come combining it with the northern Pantanal, since both are reached from Cuiabá, making it an easy two-day addition. Guides are required on many trails.

Parque Nacional da Chapada dos Guimarães, Chapada dos Guimarães, MT, Chapada dos Guimarães, Mato Grosso, Brazil

The national park opens daily in daylight hours, with last entry to the longer trails around midday so hikers are out before dark; the park has at times closed one day a week for maintenance, so confirm. The Véu de Noiva viewpoint is a short walk from the visitor centre and needs no guide, but the trail down to the base of the fall has been closed for long periods after rockfalls. The waterfall circuit, the Cidade de Pedra, the caves and several other sites require a registered guide and some limit visitor numbers per day, so book guides ahead on holidays and weekends. Trails may close after heavy rain in the wet season and during fire risk in the late dry season. Private sites outside the park keep their own hours and fees.

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