Cerrado Protected Areas

Our visit to the Cerrado Protected Areas was nearly a near miss for us. Arriving at the Movida rental car counter at Brasilia Airport at lunchtime, it ended up taking over 3 hours to pick up our car, mainly because their system didn't like our credit card so couldn't take a deposit (although expect pick-up to be slow regardless). Finally, after trying every alternative and calling our bank, they accepted our debit card instead. (Make sure you have a second credit card if hiring a car in Brazil, just in case!) So, it was a rather late arrival at our pousada in Alto Paraiso de Goias, not helped by a truck crash on the outskirts of Brasilia and endless speed bumps on the rural highway.
 
Next morning we head to Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, hiking the Canyon Trail. The Canyon and the nearby waterfall also visited by the trail are both beautiful, plus great swimming spots - what all the domestic tourists are here for! The trails aren't that demanding but the relentless sun (with only thin tree cover) was draining. We started our hike just before 10am and returned about 3:30pm, enjoying the icy cold filtered water dispenser at the visitors centre.
 
Afterwards, it was too late to visit Vale da Lua, but instead that meant I was taking in the scenery on our return drive to Alto Paraiso, and spotted the sign for the Jardim de Maytrea (also pinned on Google Maps). This lookout spot …

Like all the other reviewers, I only toured one component of this post, Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park. It is definitely more accessible than the Emas National Park and, judging by the photos, also much more interesting. Chapada dos Veadeiros is situated about 3 hours of a decent road from Brasilia.

The entrance to the park is located in Sao Jorge, halfway from Alto Paraiso de Goias to Colinas do Sul, where we spent the night. By the way, in Sao Jorge itself I saw a lot of pousadas, although none of them were available on booking.com on the day of our arrival. Although the park is open from 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m., you can only enter it from 8.00 a.m. to 12.00 It is guarded very strictly, we saw a frustrated traveler who was withdrawn from the park's gate at 12:15. All this so that travelers choosing specific routes have time to cover them and return to the entrance before the park is closed. The entrance to the park requires a fee - 36 reais, if I remember correctly. At the Visitors Center you can get everything you need for the hike – water, snacks, clothes, sunscreen etc. Sun protection is very important as the cerrado is covered with a thin forest and sometimes gives little shade. Each traveler must watch the instructional video and listen to the guide's instructions. Hiring a guide is not necessary and it does not make much sense now - the routes …

Visited February 2019.

I have visited only one component of this inscription – Chapada dos Veaderiros National Park which is situated few hours by bus Brasilia. The visitors’ centre is located in the village called Sao Jorge where you can find an accommodation but in my opinion better place to stay is Alto Paraiso de Goias – to get there take a bus from Interstate Bus Station in Brasilia, there are 3 buses a day and the journey takes 3 hours and a half (depending on traffic while leaving the capital). At the moment I was in Alto Paraiso there was no public transportation to Sao Jorge, but 30 km distance to the entrance of the park can be covered by taxi (tourist information centre in Alto Paraiso can help to arrange) or you can hitch-hike (yes, it worked!). There’s no entry fee to the park itself and no guides are compulsory anymore unless you choose two day trail with sleeping in the park – this option must be arrange at least a day before you want to start. Other trails (waterfalls trail and canyons trail) can be done in one day if you start at 8 in the morning, when they open the park. You should remember that after 1 pm the tourists are not let in. The waterfall trail will lead you to two waterfalls – this trail is more popular but in my opinion the second one, canyons trail, is more interesting because you have a …

Just a short drive north of Brasilia, you will find this incredibly beautiful National Park that is a part of the Unesco family, it's called Chapada dos Veadeiros; entrance is from the village of San Jorge where you can choose from different paths to trek, depending on the seaon, we have chosen a track about 10km return to some very nice waterfall (Salto II of the Black river) and natural pools for swimming. Guides are now no more compulsary, you can go by your own, and the different trecks are very well marked in different colours.

I recommend to stay in Alto Paraiso, there are many pousadas there waiting for tourists! Just make sure that you take the direct road from Brasilia, and dont ever attempt to pass Flores de Goias, eventhough the roads are on the map! It was a nightmare of a road, often looking rather like a riverbed, with no signboards, and even the navigation system did not work any longer, taking us about 5 hours longer than planned, but a real adventure.

I have just visited one of the two parks that make up the "Cerrado Protected Areas", that is Chapada dos Veadeiros. Cerrado is the Brazilian savannah, although much greener than other savannah areas of the world. In comparison to Amazon Forest it looks poor in terms of biodiversity, but 1/3 of all Brazilian species (flora and fauna) can be found in cerrado areas.

To enter the National Park of Chapadas dos Veadeiros one must hire a guide that leads you to the two possible treks, both with awesome waterfalls and natural pools to beat the heat. It usually takes a whole day to visit each one of the treks. The highest fall is 120 meters. With luck, some of the species of the cerrado can be sighted, in my case I could see the "gralha-do-campo", a black and blue bird.

The NP is only 230 km from Brasília with plenty of hotels around the city of Alto Paraíso de Goiás.