Chapada Diamantina National Park
Chapada Diamantina National Park has got to be the best national park nobody has ever heard of. Just on its own it is one of the nicest national parks I have ever been to. Throw in that nobody outside of Brazil is even aware of its existence and you have a wonderful place to visit with very few crowds.
We visited the week before the Sao Joao Festival which is the largest festival in the northeast of Brazil. Decorations for the festival were already being put up in Lencois. We organized our trip so that we would have 4 full days and 5 nights in Lencois. Our plan was:
Day of Arrival: Visit Pai Ignacio for the views of the canyons.
Day 1: Visit the Poco Encantado and Poco Azul.
Days 2-3: Hike through the Paty Valley
Day 4: Hike to the Sossego Waterfall
We left wishing we could have spent another week. There were so many more hikes and waterfalls and underground caves, including Cachoeira da Fumaca (Waterfall of Smoke) which is the tallest waterfall in Brazil (dropping over 1100 ft). The distance is so great that the water is mist when it reaches the valley floor.
