Brazil Chapada dos Veadeiros

Goias, Brazil · Brazil

Moderate7 daysSouth America~£400 est.

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Overview

Chapada dos Veadeiros is the cerrado — Brazil's overlooked savanna, botanically among the richest on earth — carved into quartz canyons on a plateau of enormous skies. Base in Alto Paraíso or the village of São Jorge and work the classics: the twin 120-metre drops of Salto do Rio Preto inside the national park, the Cânion 2 river gorge, and — with a local guide, as the community requires — Cachoeira Santa Bárbara's implausibly turquoise pools in Kalunga territory, land held by descendants of escaped slaves since the 1700s. Overnight the 23 km Travessia das Sete Quedas if you want the park to yourself at dawn. Crystal-seamed rock glitters underfoot, rheas and giant anteaters cross the red-dirt tracks, and the night sky is among the darkest in South America. May to September is the dry season: reliable trails, swimmable pools, cold clear nights. The wet season doubles the waterfalls but shuts the canyons on flash-flood risk. Around £400 for a week with guesthouses, guides and park fees; Brasília is the gateway, three hours by road.