4-day Trip in Jalapão from Palmas, Brazil
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TripsBrazilJalapão

4-day Trip in Jalapão from Palmas, Brazil

Brazil
3 Nights·4 Days
JalapãoMulti-ActivityActive Adventures

Overview

Your Jalapão trip begins in Palmas, the capital of Tocantins and the gateway to Jalapão State Park, one of Brazil’s most striking Cerrado landscapes. Over the days, hike to waterfalls, float in the fervedouros (natural springs where you cannot sink), rest on quiet river beaches, and raft the Soninho or Novo River, depending on the season.

This 4-day Jalapão trip also opens the door to the region’s quilombola communities, with meals and stays in cozy pousadas in São Félix do Tocantins and Mateiros. We call it the Volta ao Parque (VAP), a circuit that explores the park on foot, against the usual tourism flow, one trail at a time.

Reachable only by 4×4, the route trades hours in the car for time on the ground at the Velha and Formiga waterfalls, the Buritizinho and Encontro das Águas fervedouros, the Serra do Espírito Santo, and the golden Jalapão dunes.

  • Full itinerary: hiking, fervedouros, waterfalls, rafting, and river beaches.
  • A deep dive into the less-visited side of Jalapão State Park in Brazil, reachable only by 4x4.
  • Iconic Jalapão waterfalls and springs: Velha and Formiga, the Buritizinho and Encontro das Águas fervedouros, the Serra do Espírito Santo, and the Jalapão dunes.
  • Cultural immersion with quilombola communities: Taboca, Boa Esperança, Mumbuca, Prata, and Rio Novo.
  • Comfortable pousada stays in São Félix do Tocantins and Mateiros.
  • Activities led by experienced local guides, with English-speaking guides available on request.
  • All-inclusive experience: round-trip 4x4 transfer, accommodation, meals, and local guides.

  • Please note: This is the Volta ao Parque (VAP), an active, off-the-beaten-path circuit reached only by 4×4, with full days of outdoor activities. The itinerary below is a guide and may shift with weather, water levels, and the season.

Itinerary

Day 1

Arrival in São Félix / Morro da Catedral Hike

  • DeparturePalmas · 7:15 AM (airport or hotel)
  • 4x4 transferPalmas → São Félix · 280 km · ~4h35 (170 km paved, 110 km dirt)
  • HikingMorro da Catedral · 1.6 km · ~2 hrs (sunset)

Our local partner picks you up in Palmas at 7:15 AM and heads for São Félix do Tocantins. The drive itself is part of the Jalapão itinerary: you stop for a swim at the Peixinho River spring and then have lunch at Dona Irani’s kitchen in the Taboca community.

In the late afternoon, climb Morro da Catedral, a 200-meter peak and one of Jalapão's signature viewpoints. The 1.6 km trail takes about `2 hours and puts you at the top for sunset over the savanna before you settle into your pousada in São Félix.

Meals included: Lunch / Dinner

Aerial panorama of a vast Cerrado savanna at dusk on a jalapão trip, with a lone flat-topped butte silhouetted against a pink and orange sky on the horizon
Low-angle view of the massive sandstone pillar of Catedral do Jalapão rising above a green cerrado hillside, with a circular trail marker sign visible among the rocks in the foreground and a blue sky with scattered clouds above, on a jalapão trip

Day 2

Boa Esperança Hike & Fervedouros / Velha Crossing & Class IV Rafting

  • HikingBoa Esperança (Mateiros) · 9.5 km · ~3.5 hrs · through Cerrado & fervedouros
  • Your choiceAraras Waterfall or 10 km rafting on the Soninho River
  • HikingTravessia da Velha · 12 km (15.5 km total · ~4.5 hrs)
  • RaftingCachoeira da Velha · ~4 hrs · Class IV

Day 2 follows one of two routes, matched to the season. Both are built around walking and water, and both end back at your pousada for the night.

Rainy season (November–April)

A morning hike of about 9.5 km reaches the Boa Esperança community, passing Cerrado vegetation and fervedouros along the way. After lunch near the Jatobá fervedouro, choose between a relaxed visit to the Araras Waterfall or a 10 km rafting run down the Soninho River.

Dinner is in the Prata community before the drive back to São Félix (47 km on a dirt road, ~1.5 hrs).

Dry season (May–October)

The Travessia da Velha runs about 12 km across open fields and trails to the Cachoeira da Velha, seen from a rare angle inside the park, with a picnic on a Novo River beach. The afternoon brings the Jalapão rafting highlight: a 4-hour Class IV trip on the Novo River, Brazil's largest river of clean, drinkable water.

At sunset, a final 3.5 km trail leads to the ecolodge for the night (80 km on dirt road, ~2 hrs).

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Aerial view of a wide multi-tiered waterfall on a Jalapão trip, where a river drops over iron-rich rock ledges into a churning gorge flanked by dense Cerrado gallery forest and open grassland
An orange inflatable raft moored on rocky shore in front of a wide curtain waterfall during a Jalapão trip, with green cerrado forest framing a blue sky above
A group of helmeted rafters in an orange inflatable raft sheltering beside dark rocks as a massive waterfall curtain crashes down during a jalapão trip on the Soninho River
A tannin-stained stream meets clearer water along a narrow dirt trail bordered by dense tropical forest vegetation on a jalapão trip

Day 3

Fervedouros / Formiga Waterfall / Mateiros

  • FervedourosBuritizinho float
  • Hiking4 km · ~1.5 hrs · to Encontro das Águas
  • Formiga Waterfallone of Tocantins' signature sites

This is the fervedouro day, the part of any Jalapão trip travelers talk about afterward. Float in the blue-green water of Buritizinho, where the current holds you up, then hike 4 km to Encontro das Águas, the point where the Formiga and Soninho rivers meet and the water shifts color and temperature.

After a typical lunch in the Mumbuca community, reach the Cachoeira da Formiga, whose emerald pool is built for a long swim. You arrive in Mateiros in the late afternoon to rest (95 km on dirt road, ~3 hrs).

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Aerial drone view of four people floating spread-eagle in a small circular fervedouro natural spring on a jalapão trip, surrounded by dense tropical vegetation with broad banana-like leaves
A woman in a red swimsuit wading through the calm, pale green waters of a fervedouro on a Jalapão trip, surrounded by lush tropical vegetation including banana trees
Woman in a red bikini floating underwater in the crystal-clear turquoise water of a fervedouro natural spring on a jalapão trip, with a white sandy bottom and lush tropical foliage above the waterline
Panoramic view over a vast cerrado landscape during a jalapão trip, with a flat-topped sandstone mesa silhouetted on the horizon beneath a dramatic sky of rose and amber clouds at sunset

Day 4

Serra do Espírito Santo Sunrise / Jalapão Dunes / Back to Palmas

  • Sunrise trekSerra do Espírito Santo · 4 AM · 200 m plateau
  • Jalapão dunesgolden dunes & Novo River beach
  • Transfer→ Palmas · arrive ~7:30 PM

The last day of your Jalapão trip starts in the dark. At 4 AM, climb the Serra do Espírito Santo, a 200-meter sandstone plateau, to watch the sun come up over the park. On the way down, reach the breathtaking golden dunes and cool off at a Novo River beach.

Lunch is the last shared meal of the tour, in the Rio Novo community, before the 4×4 turns back toward Palmas. You should arrive around 7:30 PM.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch

Panoramic view from a high sandstone escarpment on a jalapão trip, looking out over green cerrado vegetation and flat-topped mesas stretching to the horizon under a partly cloudy sky
A traveler sits on a sandstone cliff edge at sunrise during a Jalapão trip, looking out over a vast green plateau and distant mesa under a wide blue sky
Golden sand dunes with wind-rippled ridges in the foreground of a jalapão trip highlight, backed by a green belt of cerrado vegetation and a flat-topped sandstone escarpment under a partly cloudy sky
Aerial view of a couple holding hands on the golden sand dunes of Jalapão trip, with green shrubs, a river, and a dramatic sandstone escarpment under a cloudy sky
Intense orange and red sunset sky over silhouetted cerrado tree canopy on a jalapão trip, with dramatic layered clouds glowing gold above the darkened landscape

What is Included

  • Round-trip 4x4 transfer (Palmas ⇌ Jalapão)
  • Accommodation: 2 nights in São Félix do Tocantins and 1 night in Mateiros, in comfortable pousadas
  • Meals (full board), plus mineral water during all activities
  • Entrance fees for all activities
  • Guided tours (hiking, fervedouros, waterfalls, rafting, and river beaches)
  • Expert local guides and interaction with the quilombola communities

Not included

  • Flight tickets
  • Accommodation in Palmas (before or after the tour)
  • Breakfast on the first day and dinner on the last day
  • Drinks other than the mineral water included during activities
  • Travel insurance
  • English-speaking (or other-language) guides, on request and at additional cost, subject to availability
  • Optional tours, laundry, phone calls, tips, and other personal expenses
  • Any services not previously mentioned

FAQ

Reviews

“Great company, great structure, great trip, great itinerary, great inns, excellent guide (Michelle). Places of impressive exuberance.”

— Gilson A

“Great company, the itinerary was really cool, the places we visited and the accommodation were wonderful, and I want to thank the guide José Raimundo for giving us fun, enjoyable tours and for his knowledge of the places. He became our teacher and I felt very welcomed by him.”

— Dionne A

“The itinerary customized for photography was sensational. Our guide, Zé Raimundo, was spectacular, with his energy, calmness and wisdom.”

— Marcius V

“Everything was organized perfect, we hade follow up Adventures and it worked great. At any time someone frome planeta was available and the tour guides were very nice. Good communication frome booking until the end of the trip. Big Love to the Team <3”

— Matteo

“Incredible experience, very good days getting to know the cerrado and wonderful people.”

— Ricardo E

“A wonderful experience!! The guides were great! They provided a friendly and safe experience for everyone. The landscape was incredible along with the trip itself . I would book again with the agency”

— Tony

“My sister and I were looking for a trip surrounded by nature and the chance to meet local people. It was much more than that, as we learned so much from him and from the trekking guides, Tadute and Seu Adelcino, about the environments we were exploring. Dona Dem and Dona Deusa welcomed us in their community restaurants as if we were a part of the family. It was truly amazing! The cherry on top is that it is not very touristic, so you can experience Jalapão almost just for yourself which is a real luxury. Thank you again Rafael!!”

— louise m

“Sensational Jalapão is breathtaking. Behind the savanna vegetation lie geological and green treasures that the team knew how to help us discover and appreciate. Their knowledge of the places and their approach to such a fragile environment add real value to the trip.”

— Sara

“My 65-year-old mother and I had the opportunity to do the Travessia Jalopeiras, our first trip just the two of us, and it was simply unforgettable! From the start, the quality of the guides Bodo and Vanderlei stood out. They were attentive and knowledgeable, and they made every moment safe and enriching, especially for my mother, who was very well taken care of. Vanderlei, the founder, has an impressive connection with the local communities, built over years of dedication and respect, which brought a unique depth to the experience. The vehicles used were comfortable, perfect for the challenging routes of Jalapão, and the lodging was exceptional, with a generous, top-quality breakfast. One of the highlights was camping by the river, under a starry sky, with a group that, in just seven days, became a true family. The activities, such as rafting and intense hikes, were well organized and accessible for people with a moderate level of physical fitness, like us. What made this trip special was the connection with the people of the territory. Through the guides, we dove into the history, culture and ancestral wisdom of the Quilombola peoples, learning about medicinal plants and the richness of Jalapão. This itinerary, created over years, passes through hard-to-reach places, impossible to explore without experienced guides. The company not only protects nature, but also values the true owners of the region – the original peoples and Quilombolas. While other tours through Jalapão can be superficial, focusing only on fervedouros and landscapes, the Travessia Jalopeiras is a deep, professional and transformative experience. Vanderlei and his team have a positive impact on the communities, and the respect and gratitude everyone has for him is visible. There is nothing to complain about – it was perfect! I'm itching to go back and I recommend it to everyone looking for an authentic and unforgettable experience.”

— Adam Newman

“I had a good experience with this tour provider, and a huge part of it was thanks to Beatriz, our agent. From start to finish, Beatriz was incredibly helpful and attentive. She took the time to tailor a tour offer (for 4-days Jalapaõ) that suited our individual needs perfectly, ensuring that every aspect was designed with our preferences in mind. Additionally, before the tour even began, we received a detailed itinerary outlining the day's schedule, which helped us feel well-prepared. A special mention goes to our tour guide, who went above and beyond. Noticing that my friend had a cough, he took the initiative to show us a shop where she could buy medicine. This thoughtful gesture truly made a difference in our experience. Furthermore, the accommodations provided were spotless and very comfortable, making our stay even more enjoyable. Throughout the entire tour, Beatriz and the team’s care and attention to detail made it all the more memorable. I highly recommend this provider for anyone looking for a personalized, well-organized, and comfortable tour experience!”

— Petra

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$ 600/ per person