Jalapão State Park

Jalapão State Park, in the municipality of Mateiros in eastern Tocantins, covers 158,885 ha (392,610 acres) of cerrado, the Brazilian savanna, with sand dunes, the dunes and hills of Espírito Santo, and flat-topped plateaus bounded by steep cliffs that rain and wind keep wearing away. Most of the park lies in the upper basin of the Rio do Sono, and gallery forest follows its clear rivers. Its best-known sights are the fervedouros, springs whose water wells up with such force that a bather cannot sink. The golden grass capim dourado and buriti silk are made into handicrafts that have become the main income of the local communities, among them Mumbuca, founded by people who had escaped slavery in Bahia.

Background

Jalapão State Park lies in the Jalapão microregion of eastern Tocantins, Brazil, in the municipality of Mateiros, and takes in cerrado, sand dunes and flat-topped plateaus ringed by steep cliffs, among them the dunes and hills of Espírito Santo. Most of it drains to the upper Rio do Sono. Its plants range from grassland to gallery forest, the endemic hoary fox lives here, and the rare Brazilian merganser and Chaco eagle are found in it. The park was created by state law on 12 January 2001 and is hard to reach, requiring about 600 km of driving on dirt roads.

Source: Wikipedia, "Jalapão State Park"

What's there

• The dunes - the Jalapão dunes, a favourite place to watch the sunset, visited with a licensed guide.
• Fervedouros - springs whose water wells up with such force that a bather cannot sink.
• The Serra do Espírito Santo - flat-topped uplands bounded by steep cliffs, worn by rain and wind, with walks and viewpoints.
• Golden-grass craft - handicrafts of capim dourado and buriti silk, the main income of local communities.

When to go

In the rainy season, the southern summer, the roads turn to deep mud; in winter it is very dry and the tracks are sandy. The region's average temperature is about 30 °C (86 °F).

Before you go

The park is hard to reach, over long dirt roads that test drivers. Visits to the dunes and the Serra do Espírito Santo are regulated by Naturatins, the state environment agency: they must be booked with a voucher and made with a licensed local guide, with visitor limits, set times and marked trails. The region is so empty, at 0.8 people per km², that you can go for days without seeing anyone.

Nearby

The park joins other protected areas, the Serra Geral do Tocantins Ecological Station and the Nascentes do Rio Parnaíba National Park among them. In a straight line, São Félix do Tocantins is about 49 km to the east-north-east, Ponte Alta do Tocantins about 72 km to the south-west, Mateiros about 79 km to the east-south-east and Palmas, the state capital, about 136 km to the west.

Key facts