Waterfalls, Quartz and Open Cerrado
Chapada dos Veadeiros is the high cerrado of Goiás, three hours north of Brasília: a UNESCO-listed national park, red-rock rivers that tumble through natural pools, and canyons you walk down into. Three to five days with a private English-speaking guide, hiking at your own pace and sleeping in a pousada in Alto Paraíso de Goiás.
Book a callDuration
3 to 5 days, 2 to 4 nights
Accommodation
Comfortable pousadas in Alto Paraíso, from simple to boutique with a pool
Highlights
Vale da Lua · Rio Preto falls · Couros canyon · Almécegas
Most itineraries reach Brasília only to change planes. Three hours north, the land climbs onto the Planalto Central and turns into the cerrado: rolling grassland, rock the colour of rust, and rivers stained tea-brown by the roots they run through. Chapada dos Veadeiros is where that landscape is at its best, and the national park at its heart is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It is a trip built around walking to water. A river cut into pale stone at Vale da Lua, a 50 metre fall at Almécegas with a natural pool at the foot of the smaller one, a day-long circuit past old quartz diggings to the Rio Preto cascades, and a canyon at Couros where you descend about halfway down the walls. The paths are real hiking, steeper and rockier than a stroll, but every day has a swim and a long lunch built in.
Chapada dos Veadeiros lies in Goiás, Brazil. Best time to go: May to September (dry, best for hiking); rainy season November to March for fuller waterfalls. We usually plan 4 days here, privately guided and fitted into your wider route.
We don't list every tour, only the ones we'd actually send you on: the unmissable classics, plus a few most visitors never find.
A day
The long day in the national park: about eight kilometres along an old miners' trail through high cerrado, past the quartz diggings that founded São Jorge, to the Rio Preto cascades. You swim and take a hydro-massage under the falls, picnic, and walk back on a path glittering with crystal fragments.
A day
The most dramatic waterfall complex in the region, on private land outside the park. A 90 minute drive on dirt road, then about 1.5 kilometres along the rim before you climb down roughly halfway into a canyon some 300 metres deep. Lunch is a home-cooked meal at a local family's house.
Half a day
A stretch of river that has carved the pale rock into bowls, channels and pools, which is why it is named for the moon. An easy first afternoon, and a good test of the light on arrival day.
Half a day
A 2.5 kilometre walk across a working farm to a 50 metre fall, then on to the smaller second fall with a large natural swimming pool.
Half a day
An elevated walkway through forest, with seven natural pools to swim in along the way. A gentle last morning before the drive back to Brasília.
This is just one example of how your days could unfold, every itinerary is private and fully tailored, so we gladly reshape it around your pace, interests and travel dates.
Your guide meets you at Brasília airport, ideally for a morning arrival, and drives you to Alto Paraíso (about three hours). Lunch in town, then the afternoon at Vale da Lua before checking in to your pousada.
A morning walk to the two Almécegas falls with a swim in the pool, a long lunch in town and a free afternoon. A slow day on purpose, before the harder ones.
The longest transfer of the trip, on dirt road, for the most spectacular day: the walk along the canyon rim, the descent into the falls and lunch with a local family. You are back in Alto Paraíso by the afternoon.
The big hike: eight kilometres through high cerrado to the Rio Preto cascades, a swim and picnic under the falls, and a late lunch in São Jorge on the way home.
The elevated forest path at Loquinhas with its seven pools, lunch in Alto Paraíso, then the three hour drive to Brasília airport for an afternoon flight.
Chapada dos Veadeiros works for most of the year, and the season decides how it looks. May to September is dry, clear and the best for hiking. November to March brings the rains, fuller waterfalls and green slopes, with the odd afternoon storm.
Plan My TripEnglish-speaking guides throughout. German-speaking guides are almost always available on request.
Private, air-conditioned transfers between Brasília airport or hotel and Alto Paraíso, and to every trailhead.
In Alto Paraíso de Goiás, from simple and central to boutique with a pool, chosen for the evening after a day of walking.
Park and waterfall entrance fees, breakfast, lunches and picnics are part of the programme.
May to September is the dry season and the most reliable for hiking: clear skies, cooler mornings and stable trails. November to March is the rainy season, with fuller waterfalls and green slopes but afternoon storms and slippery paths. Late in the dry season, around September and October, fire risk rises and parts of the national park have closed in some years, so we always keep a second waterfall day in reserve. School and public holidays are busier.
Three days, two nights, is the minimum to see Vale da Lua and the national park without rushing. Four days add the Couros canyon, and five days give you the whole circuit including Almécegas and Loquinhas at an easy pace. The region also works as an extension if you are already flying through Brasília.
Alto Paraíso de Goiás, the base for the region, is about three hours by road from Brasília airport. Your guide meets you at the airport and drives you the whole way, and brings you back for your flight. We suggest arriving by mid morning and flying out in the afternoon, so no day is lost to transfers.
It is moderate. The paths are rockier and steeper than a walk in the park, and the national park day is about eight kilometres, but nothing needs special equipment and every day has swimming and a long lunch built in. If you want less, we drop the long day and add another short waterfall. Tell us honestly what suits you.
No. Chapada dos Veadeiros is in Goiás, near Brasília, and is high cerrado with red-rock rivers. The Chapada Diamantina is in Bahia, inland from Salvador, and is tabletop mountains and caves. They are about 1,000 kilometres apart and different trips.
Yes, it fits easily because Brasília has direct flights across the country. It pairs well with the Pantanal, which is a flight from Brasília to Cuiabá, or with Rio de Janeiro before or after. Tell us the rest of your route and we will fit the days around it.
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My wife and I have always been thrilled by Brazil, but we had never dared to organise the trip ourselves. Authentic Brazil Travel planned the whole journey for us, including some destinations we did not know. The trip was superbly organised, the guides were great, the accommodations lovely and the transfers punctual. Thanks to the wonderful guides and their tips we felt safe the entire time and got to discover a lot of new things. Gladly again!