View of Lençóis over the creek bed. (1101k)
From the Wikipedia entry for Chapada Diamantina National Park:
The Chapada Diamantina National Park (Portuguese: Parque Nacional da Chapada Diamantina) is a national park in the Chapada Diamantina region of the State of Bahia, Brazil. The terrain is rugged, and mainly covered by flora of the Caatinga biome. It covers 152,142 hectares (375,950 acres).
The park is in the Chapada Diamantina, a plateau bounded by cliffs of 41,751 km² (16,120 square miles) in central Bahia. Altitudes in the plateau typically vary from 500 - 1,000 m (1,640 - 3,300 ft). In the more mountainous parts there are several peaks of 1,600 - 1,800 m (5,250 - 5,910 ft), and a few over 2,000 m (6,600 ft). The plateau forms a watershed, draining on one side into the São Francisco River and on the other into the De Contas River and Paraguaçu River.
In the 19th and early 20th century, diamonds were found in this area. The whole area was dug up and turned over in search of diamonds. Most of it actually twice. The first time black diamonds were discarded as worthless. When they became valuable as industrial diamonds, the mining dumps were searched again for the black diamonds.
All pictures are © Dr. Günther Eichhorn, unless otherwise noted.
Gruta da Lapa Doce (Lapa Doce Cave) is a large cave. It is easy to walk through, no narrow passages or low ceilings. It has lots of beautiful limestone formations.
The Pratinha is an underground river coming out of a cave. It is easy to get to.
The Gruta Azul or Blue Cave actually a pool in a cave. It is a 10 minute walk from parking, with a descend down some stairs at the end.
Vale do Capão (Valley of Capão) is a scenic valley in the Chapada Diamantinapark. The village of Caeté-Açu in the valey is the starting point of the hike to the Cachoeira da Fumaça (Fumaça Waterfall). The hike is very nice, about 2 km (1.2 miles) uphill and then about 4 km (2.5 miles) on flat terrain. The waterfall is the second highest in Brazil. Unfortunately, it was the dry season, so there was no water falling over the waterfall.
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Page last updated on Tue Sep 24 18:19:03 2019 (Mountain Standard Time)
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