Ibitipoca State Park

Ibitipoca is small - about fifteen hundred hectares - and manages its popularity by capping how many people enter each day, which has to be booked ahead and is the single most important thing to know before going. The plateau is quartzite, so the caves are formed in hard rock rather than limestone: Bromelias, Coelhos, Gruta dos Moreiras. The water runs dark amber, coloured by tannins from the vegetation rather than by dirt, and collects in pools at Janela do Ceu, a fall dropping off the plateau edge, and at Lagoa Dourada, where the light through the tannin gives the sand a gold cast. Trails cross campo rupestre grassland and pockets of cloud forest, and the village of Conceicao de Ibitipoca outside the gate has grown into the base.

What you actually see

• Quartzite caves - formed in hard rock, not limestone.
• Tannin-dark water - amber pools, coloured by vegetation rather than sediment.
• Janela do Ceu - a fall dropping off the plateau rim.
• Campo rupestre and cloud forest - the two vegetations across the plateau.

When to go

April to September. Two days. Book the entry slot well ahead.

Honest expectations

The daily cap means turning up without a booking often means not getting in, especially at weekends and holidays. Trails to Janela do Ceu are several hours return. Accommodation in the village is expensive for what it is. Water is cold year round.

Nearby

Conceicao de Ibitipoca is at the gate; Juiz de Fora is north-east.