Tour to Jalapão, the Gem of Brazil’s Cerrado

Fly into Brazil’s capital city, Brasilia. You’ll be met at the airport and driven to your hotel where you stay two nights. In the afternoon, take a guided tour of Brasilia, visiting some of the most famous buildings. The city was founded in 1960 and is a planned city, developed to move the capital from Rio de Janeiro. Brasilia is divided up into areas for particular activities, for examples, the Embassy Sector, Hotel Sector, etc. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site in recognition of modernist architecture. Your tour will include the TV Tower, Cathedral and several other buildings. There is time to explore further on your own.

Travel out of Brasilia to the Itiquira Falls, about 45 miles from the city. The Itiquira River plunges 168 meters from a plateau to a series of pools and rapids below. There are several nice swimming spots nearby. Return to Brasilia for the evening.

You’ll be driven to Brasilia airport and fly to Palmas today, the flight takes just under an hour and a half. In Palmas, you’ll be met and driven to your centrally located hotel where you stay tonight. Depending on the time of your flight, you’ll have some free time in either Brasilia or Palmas. Palmas is a very new city - founded in 1990, it is partly modelled on Brasilia.

Your adventure really begins today. You’ll join a group and travel in an overland style truck towards Jalapão. The first three and a half hours are along well paved roads, then onto tracks and rougher roads. Following a stop for lunch, enter the Serra Geral mountain range and say goodbye to civilization! Visit the Suçuapara Canyon, a refreshingly humid place amidst the dryness of the surrounding area. A couple more hours travel and you arrive at Jalapão Safari Camp where you stay the next four nights. You’ll receive a briefing on safety and the local wildlife. Tents are simple, but have private bathrooms. There are small LED lights in the tents which run on solar power. Cameras can be charged using solar power. Large devices such as ipads or laptops cannot be charged. There is no mobile phone signal.

Go kayaking on the Novo River which is right in front of the safari camp. The river is wild and pristine with beautiful sandy beaches and plenty of opportunities for swimming and spotting animal tracks. Following lunch, you’ll go to Jalapão dunes. The dunes are beautiful and are backed by a table top mountain and forest of palm trees. Parrots can be seen here including blue macaws. Sunset at the dunes is something unforgettable.

Today you’ll travel around Jalapão in the truck with stops along the way to take in the surroundings. Visit Poço Fervedouro Soninho, a pool formed by natural springs and surrounded by banana trees planted by early inhabitants of the region. Due to the force of the water coming from the spring, you can float in the pool as if on air. Continue to Formiga waterfall, where cool waters tumble into a crystal clear pool. Visit the village of Mateiros, where handicrafts made from capim-dourado, a golden grass unique to the area can be purchased. Return to the camp at night.

A four hour trek takes you to Mirante da Serra today. This is a table-top mountain, known in Brazil as chapadas. Along the way, you’ll get great views of the dunes and Rio Novo. Pumas and jaguars are present here, and you may see their footprints in the sand. Return to the camp. The afternoon is free.

After breakfast, say goodbye to the safari camp and head back towards Palmas. On the way, stop at the horse-shaped waterfall of Cachoeira da Velha - the largest in the region. Swallows live behind the falls. Continue to a site known as Little Beach, and then onwards to Palmas for the night.

You’ll be driven to Palmas airport for your flight to Salvador, which takes about two hours. On arrival in Salvador, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel in the Pelourinho, the old center of the city, where you stay two nights. In the afternoon, take a cycling tour of the city. The tour lasts about three hours and you’ll cover around 11 km at a gentle pace.

Salvador has fantastic food, and this tour shows you some of the best. Starting in Sao Joaquim market, ingredients will be purchased and taken to the kitchen. Prepare Moqueca, a typical seafood dish, and of course enjoy the results!

Flyback home, or continue your tour to other parts of Brazil. If you’d like some beach time, this can be easily added, with miles of beautiful coastline not far from Salvador.