Chapada dos Guimaraes
The town and national park of Chapada dos Guimaraes are 40 miles north of Cuiabá. As you drive out of town, you’ll start to see beautiful canyons and towering bright red rock formations much like those near Sedona, Arizona. Some rise to over 3,000 feet above the flatlands. Make your first stop the Portno do Inferno (Gate of Hell) Overlook. The chasm below was created by the Cuiabá River’s erosion of the mesa. The park was created in 1989 and the town is within the park. This area is much drier than the Pantanal, but its numerous small rivers create waterfalls and from nearby overlooks you’ll see lush tropical vegetation where the falls empty into the canyons below. The most prominent waterfall, Véu de Noiva (Bridal Veil) drops some 200 feet in a thin spindle of white spray. It is just a short walk from the park’s visitor center. There are four other falls in the park as well as scores of hiking trails. They are easy to find, but are not signed. Parking lots are located at the head of each trail. Five miles east of town, the Mirante da Geodesia trail leads to the geodesic center of Brazil. The overlook has great views of the mesa and on a clear day you can see as far as Cuiabá.
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