Lara and I woke up and made some very dark coffee with no cream or sugar or milk… it hurt my heart. We decided to use a guide, but he found two other people for the group, so we ended up paying 50 reais each.
We started at the CAT- tourism center, in Alto Paraiso. Lara and I followed him to Chapada dos V, and the road once we got through Sao Jorge was ROUGH. This chevy was not built with enough clearance, and it was dirt roads. I give so much props to Lara for her maneuvering the roads with a manual car.
We finally arrived at the starting for the Mirante da Janela hike, and we had to pay another 15 reais to enter that trail. We walked through some foresty vegetation, which then opened up to a savannah/desert feeling geography. By the way, at this point we have seen 8 macaws just flying in the wild- yellow and blue.
So we make our way along the path and I found the huge flower that looks like the one you blow to make a wish, but it’s huge!! I had seen that online for a year and was super excited at the prospect of finding one.
We found our way down to the Abismo, which is a 7 part waterfall, but it has a calm bathing area,but we continued on past and stopped on our way back. We descended down the first mountain, and encountered the first set of wooden created steps. It was scary, but they were really helpful- it didn’t help with my fear of falling off of ladders. We made it down to the plain area, and it was a nice reprieve. Then, we started the ascent up the next mountain, which included a lot more of the wooden created ladders.
We finally made it to the Mirante! There was a long line for the window picture, but absolutely worth it. You had to maneuver yourself to start on the main rock, then lean across so that you are shimming your way across the rock feet on one side and hands on the other. When you got to the edge of the window portion then you grabbed overtop to hold a rock leaning down and propel yourself back onto one rock side. It was so scary and I was trembling. We took photos in three spots, and the waterfall through the rock window was beautiful.
Afterwards, we hung out on a rock to the side and admired the panoramic view. Afterwards, we headed back down the mountains and up the first one towards the waterfall- Abismo. I didn’t want to change clothes, and had other reasons, so I stayed on the side with my feet in the water. We ended up staying there for about an hour. The water was super clear and calm, and the rock was nice to sit on for dipping my legs in. We talked to the other girls in the group, and found out that they were from Amazonas and Santa Catarina.
We continued our journey to the beginning of the trail, and when we got back to the “ranger” station, he had watermelon for us to enjoy. As we relaxed there, a Red-legged Semeitra bird came up to the pile of rice and container of egg yolk and was eating it. This bird was pretty big (bigger than a stork), and just roaming around but not afraid of us!
We finished the hike and then descended the really rough dirt road, but made it out ok! We headed back to the airbnb and make a pasta dinner with some wine and listened to music and chatted.
In Alto Paraiso, we found this beautiful sign by the tourism center
Really common rock formations popular to the Central-West region of Brasil
A plant that looks like it popped out of a Dr. Seuss book
The abundant Cerrado region flora.
So many hills and plateaus
This small series of mountain photos was taken by the Abismo waterfall
Following the guide- yes we did pay for a guide, and it was worth it. It ended up costing about $25 USD per person for the day for the guide, and $4 USD to enter the Mirante da Janela trail
There were lots of moments ascending the mountain
I brought out the Peruvian hat for a bit
The least scary picture to take at Mirante da Janela, before I maneuvered my way onto the rock
Mirante da Janela!
This is where you needed feet on one side and hands on the other to shimmy your way across the crevice to the hanging rock portion. There, you grabbed that hanging rock, and pushed yourself to the rock where your feet are. I was very glad to have a guide to help me
But then he told me to scoot back even further so that my face would be in the sun
And this is what it looks like zoomed out. There were rocks below in the crevice, so it wouldn't have been too detrimental if I fell, but it still scared me
There was a perfect little crevice to rest your feet
Then, to get down you need to brace yourself and scotch down
Possibly our last trip together- because she goes to Indonesia for a year and I stay in Brasil until December. My travel buddy, and best Fulbright friend, Lara
The view of the waterfall that is seen through the window, but there are no trails to access the waterfalls because the park wants to protect the land there
This is the view on the opposite side of the waterfall, and it is one of the main rivers that runs through the park
Found on the drive towards the park, from Alto Paraiso to Sao Jorge. There is a gravel pull off area at one point on the main road
We asked the girl to try and take the photo so that the waterfall was between us... didn't quite work as planned
We hung out on a rock overhang for a bit to eat some lunch and admire the view
Which also meant a photo opportunity
One of the most peaceful places that I have been in Brasil! This hike was absolutely worth it, and I would recommend asking the locals for the number of a guide. Some guides are in a Union, and they can't do tours for less than 150 reais, but if you ask them to find other people to join the group then the price could go down to 50 reais a person. The trails were not very clearly marked, and they diverged regularly.
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