Jalapao Brazilian Outback Adventure

Friday. You arrive in Palmas, the purpose-built state capital of Tocantins, after flying over the high plains of the Mid-West interior. The city was built at the geodesic centre of Brazil on the banks of the huge Rio Tocantins. After transferring to your hotel close to Praça dos Girassois, the centre of the city with the Niemeyer-designed state buildings, you may wish to check out the sundial in the square. Visits to the river beaches are possible for those who arrive early enough, although swimming is best only close to the bridge. The nets there help swimmers to avoid encounters with piranha! Palmas has excellent fish and meat options for the evening.

Saturday. The journey to the Jalapao State Park takes you to the remote interior of Tocantins, bordering the states of Bahia, Piaui and Maranhao in one of the quietest corners of Brazil. After climbing into the hills, you pass into the cerrado regions, with sparse vegetation and even fewer people. The simple life of rural Brazil can be seen as you stop for lunch in Ponte Alta. The journey continues with a stop at the Suçuapara Canyon. Traversing the wide open spaces of Tocantins in the afternoon, you arrive at the Koruba Safari Camp around sunset. After time to explore the area around the camp and the Rio Novo, you can enjoy dinner.

Sunday. The morning is spent with a gentle kayak trip down the tranquil Rio Novo, one of the only potable rivers remaining in Brazil, with the banks possibly sheltering wildlife and birds crossing overhead. After lunch at the camp, you have time to relax or walk the river trail before heading into the park. The Jalapao Dunes are the most photographed area of the park, with their deep orange sands gaining their colour from the iron-rich content. The sands are washed down from the eroding flat-topped chapada close by, and as the sun sets in Jalapao, the colours of the river, dunes and the sandy valleys make a fantastically photogenic landscape.

Monday. A full day out in the Jalapao State Park takes you along dirt roads bordered with cerrado vegetation to the Fervedouro Pool, a Jalapao postcard surrounded by banana trees supposedly planted centuries before by indigenous inhabitants of the region. The shade they provide allows you to enjoy the waters as an underground river breaches the surface, bubbling through the sand and making it impossible to sink. After the stunning little Formiga Waterfall comes a trip to a second pool. Afternoon brings a stop in the Mateiros village, with crafts made from capim dourado, the golden grass of the region. You return to the camp late afternoon.

Tuesday. An early start takes you to the trailhead for a 1km hike before the sun gets too hot, up to the flat chapada summit, with a wonderful ledge for a photo. The Mirante da Serra has sensational views of the huge expanse of Brazilian Outback, with many other chapadas and surrounding serras visible for miles around. A 3km summit trail takes you to the point above the Jalapao Dunes, where you can see the spectacular shapes sculpted by the erosion of wind and water. Afternoon is free to enjoy the camp, swim in the Rio Novo and walk the trail along the riverbank to see blue and yellow macaws, and possibly tapir and other creatures.

Wednesday. You leave the Korubo Safari Camp in the morning, with the first stop being the Cachoeira da Velha. This large falls on the Rio Novo has various photo points above and below the escarpment. The trail leading downriver may be walkable, but if not then a short drive takes you to Prainha. This little beach on the side of the river is another wonderful spot to enjoy a soak as a final lunch is prepared. From Prainha, you return to civilisation, arriving in Palmas around 7pm. Dinner with your camp-mates is recommended in the city, with the fish dishes being especially recommended as your final meal together in Tocantins.

Thursday. A morning departure takes you to Taquaruçu, a small town in a valley full of waterfalls hidden in the cerrado forest. Trails take you past troupes of monkeys using forest tools to break open seeds. The two major falls are up to 70m high, with Roncadeira offering the opportunity to rapel down through the falls to the pool at the bottom, a fine way to finish your Brazilian Outback Adventure. This tour of the Tocantins Cerrado can also be extended to the other ecosystems and wildlife of the area from a ranch by the side of the Rio Formoso, with giant otter, jaguar and caiman all resident, or at the Aratama Wildlife Conservation Centre.