Rio de Contas

Rio de Contas was a gold town in the eighteenth century, on the route carrying metal and cattle between the interior and the coast, and its centre is listed - a grid of stone-paved streets, whitewashed houses with coloured frames, the Santissimo Sacramento church, and a main square that has changed very little. It sits at around a thousand metres in the southern Chapada Diamantina, cool at night and green after rain. Pico das Almas, at about eighteen hundred metres one of the highest points in Bahia, is climbed from here on a walk of two days with a night in the campo rupestre, and shorter trails run to waterfalls and to the old gold workings. The town stays quiet outside holiday weekends.

What you actually see

• Stone-paved gold-era streets - a listed eighteenth-century centre.
• Pico das Almas - a two-day walk to one of Bahia's highest points.
• Campo rupestre - the high rocky grassland around the peaks.
• Old gold workings - the diggings on the slopes above the town.

When to go

April to September. Two days, more for the Pico das Almas trek.

Honest expectations

The road up is long and the last section slow. The Pico das Almas walk needs a guide, camping gear and cold-weather clothing - nights on the plateau drop sharply. Accommodation in town is simple and fills at holidays.

Nearby

Livramento de Nossa Senhora is below; the main Chapada Diamantina towns are north.