Chapada dos Veadeiros

Chapada Dos Veadeiros National Park, Created 1961; Part Of Cerrado Protected Areas: Chapada Dos Veadeiros And Emas National Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Site Inscribed 2001 · Alto Paraíso de Goiás, Goiás

Chapada dos Veadeiros is a high plateau of the Cerrado, Brazil's vast tropical savanna, about three hours north of Brasília, and the country's best-known place to see it. Its national park, created in 1961 and listed by UNESCO with Emas National Park in 2001, protects quartz-crystal rock that is among the oldest on the continent, canyons, and dozens of waterfalls dropping into clear pools. The Saltos do Rio Preto, two falls of roughly 80 and 120 metres, and the Cânion II are the park's classics, reached on long day hikes from the village of São Jorge. Outside the park, the Vale da Lua is a river carved into moon-like grey rock, and near Cavalcante the Cachoeira Santa Bárbara, with its turquoise water, is on the land of the Kalunga, a quilombola community descended from escaped slaves, who guide visitors there. Alto Paraíso, the main town, is known for its mystics and alternative communities. The waterfalls are strongest in the rains and the trails easiest in the dry season, when fire risk is high. It is the natural escape for Brasília and increasingly for all of Brazil.

Parque Nacional da Chapada dos Veadeiros, Vila de São Jorge, Alto Paraíso de Goiás, GO, Alto Paraíso de Goiás, Goiás, Brazil

The national park opens every day in daytime hours only, with the gate at the village of São Jorge. The rule that ruins days is the trail cut-off: the long trails to the Saltos and the Cânions stop admitting walkers from mid-morning, so anyone who arrives late is sent to the short trail instead - confirm the current cut-off before you drive out. Everyone must be back through the gate before closing, and rangers do sweep the trails. Rules on guides, entry fees, online pre-registration and daily visitor limits have changed several times in recent years; check the park's current rules the week you go. Trails can be closed at short notice on flash-flood days in the rains and during wildfires late in the dry season. Sites outside the park, such as the Vale da Lua, the private waterfalls around Alto Paraíso and the Kalunga waterfalls near Cavalcante, are on private or community land with their own hours, fees and guide rules, and the Vale da Lua shuts on high-water days. Cachoeira Santa Bárbara caps daily visitors and fills up on holidays, so reserve a Kalunga guide in advance.

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