Vila Velha State Park

Vila Velha protects about two dozen sandstone towers standing on open grassland, weathered over roughly three hundred million years from Devonian rock into shapes that have all acquired names - the Cup, the Boot, the Sphinx, the Camel - with the Cup, a wide bowl balanced on a narrow stem, being the one on every poster. A shuttle runs between three separate sectors. The second is the furnas: three sinkholes dropping about a hundred metres, two of them holding water at the bottom connected to the same aquifer, with a viewing platform over the largest and a lift down one of them that has been in and out of service for years. The third sector is Lagoa Dourada, a small lake fed from below by the same underground system.

What you actually see

• Sandstone towers - two dozen eroded blocks named for what they resemble.
• The Cup - a wide bowl balanced on a narrow stem, the park's emblem.
• The furnas - hundred-metre sinkholes holding aquifer water.
• Lagoa Dourada - a lake fed from the same underground system.

When to go

April to September for dry ground. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The three sectors run on a fixed shuttle timetable and you cannot walk between them, so arriving late in the day means missing one. The furnas lift is often out of service. There is no shade on the grassland and the park closes on Tuesdays.

Nearby

Ponta Grossa is east; Guartela canyon is north.