Friday 11 July 2014

Tour of Lencois and Parque National da Chapada Diamantina

A seven hour bus journey inland from Salvador brings you to Lencois a historic diamond mining town which is the gateway to Parque Nacional da Chapada Diamantina. This enormous park is popular for hiking with many single or multi day options available.  Arriving in Lencois a stream runs along the road which crosses an arched stone bridge into one of the towns plazzas which houses a beautiful old covered market.


It is somewhat typical that having encountered unseasonably wet weather through most of our time in Brazil we arrived in a town known for streams, waterfalls and deep swimming holes at a time when the dry interior lived up to its name.  There are several walks to swimming holes which are easily accessible within an hours walk from the town.  The Serrano swimming holes are an easy walk, popular with locals and are literally deep holes in the rock river bed. Overlooking the town and surrounding woodland they are a beautiful spot to stop for a picnic and to relax. Most of the pools were dry and those that were full were crowded so we carried on up the path to a small waterfalls and stunning views just above it.

The second day the trip we'd booked to Cachoeira da Fumaca, Brazil's highest waterfall was cancelled so we headed out on a trip taking in caves, swimming holes (notice a theme developing?) and finishing at Morro do Pai Inacio, a peak affording incredible views over rocky plateaus stretching across the valley.

The first stop was the waterfall Poco do Diablo and for us the first realisation how touristy the area is, it was clear we were going to share the day with a crowd. Having said that, a pleasant walk from the car park along the stream, past interesting rock formations, it certainly felt relaxing after Salvador.  At the bottom of the fall a large deep pool formed which was perfect for a swim and a cool down.


The next spot was Lapa Doce, the sweet cave, one of many limestone caves which extend up to 29 kilometres below the park. Decending down from the dry plateau to the cool sinkhole which forms the cave's, er, cavernous 72 feet high entra.
Entrance to Gruta Lapa Doce, and below from inside


Visitors are able to walk approximately a killometre through the cave which is 60 metres wide in its central hallway and with good torch light it is an easy walk and shouldn't feel claustrophobic for most people.

Lapa Doce is stunning and our guide was entertaining and informative.  The different stalagtite and stalagmite formations are fascinating and varying greatly in size.

Imagining a great underground river flowing through and creating the formations you can see today is fascinating. A really great experience.


The next part of the day was an hour long stop for lunch, when we had been advised to bring lunch to eat on the go, and a long stop at a cave with luminescent clear water and a shallow watering hole which at 20 reais didn't represent good value.  Getting your feet cleaned by the small fish nipping away was entertaining though.

It would have been better to cut this part of the trip short as by the time we reached Pai Inacio the star attraction in the park, dusk was already falling and a lot of the best light had gone.

Sunset view from Pai Inacio
Having said that the climb up to the plateau isn't too strenuous but wear good walking shoes and it is awesome. The amazing views across the plateaus extending down the valley are amazing.  Seeing the colours change as the sun set was superb, before a mad rush to beat the rapidly closing darkness.
From the plateau of Pai Inacio
We'd met a few good people at the Chapada Hostel we were staying at and had a great night out which I will write about separately, Flynn and Rachael from Sydney and Melbourne respectively were particularly full of good advice. Flynn "If you are in Colombia and don't go to the lost city, you are an idiot" I love Aussie straight talking.

Our last morning Rachael joined us for a hike out of the town to Ribeiro do Meio, a natural smooth rock slide and deep swimming hole below. It is only an hour so out of town and another great spot to relax in, I liked it a lot more than the Serrano swimming holes.
Ribeiro do Mei, natural rockslide

I minor warning I would give is to check whether there are any extra costs on top of the tour price, ours unexpectedly went from 110 reais to 155. I think this was a genuine communication breakdown but it pays to check. There are also multilingual guides available but you won't get one automatically.

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