Chapada das Mesas National Park

The mesas that give the park its name are flat-topped red sandstone blocks standing above cerrado, and the appeal is that the waterfalls beneath them are warm and made for swimming rather than merely for looking at. Pedra Caida drops into a canyon reached through forest; Cachoeira da Prata and Santa Barbara are broad curtains with pools; Poço Azul and Encanto Azul are clear blue springs where you can snorkel over sand. Portao da Chapada is a natural sandstone arch. Much of this sits on private land inside the park boundary, so sites are run individually and charged individually. Carolina, on the Tocantins River, is the base, and the sites are spread over a wide area of unpaved road.

What you actually see

• Red table mountains - flat sandstone blocks standing over the cerrado.
• Warm swimmable falls - Pedra Caida, Prata and Santa Barbara with pools beneath.
• Blue springs - Poço Azul and Encanto Azul, clear enough to snorkel.
• Portao da Chapada - the natural sandstone arch.

When to go

May to September, the dry season. Three days.

Honest expectations

Sites are privately operated and each charges its own entry, which adds up. Distances are long on dirt roads and 4x4 is normal. Some falls run thin at the end of the dry season. Carolina has limited accommodation.

Nearby

Jalapao lies south-west across the Tocantins line; Imperatriz is north.