5-day Jalapão Adventure in Brazil
Planeta Exo
TripsBrazilJalapão

5-day Jalapão Adventure in Brazil

Brazil
4 Nights·5 Days
JalapãoCultural & Community ExperiencesActive Adventures

Overview

This Jalapão adventure runs the Volta ao Parque circuit through Jalapão State Park, a roadless corner of Tocantins reached only by 4×4. Over the days, hike to fervedouros (natural springs where the water pressure keeps you afloat), swim under waterfalls, raft a clear river, and cross golden dunes with expert local guides the whole way.

Nights are spent in comfortable guesthouses in São Félix do Tocantins, Mateiros, and Ponte Alta do Tocantins, so each day of hiking and swimming ends with a proper bed and a regional dinner.

Trails are planned off the busy routes and often run the opposite way to standard tours, which means you reach the fervedouros, the Cerrado viewpoints, and the Encantado Canyon when almost no one else is around. You’ll explore at a walking pace, with real contact with the land and the people who live on it (quilombola communities).

  • Full itinerary: hiking, fervedouros, waterfalls, rafting, and river beaches.
  • A deep dive into the less-visited areas of Jalapão State Park, reachable only by 4x4.
  • Iconic stops: the Velha and Formiga waterfalls, the Buritizinho and Encontro das Águas fervedouros, Serra do Espírito Santo, the Jalapão dunes, the Novo River, Pedra Furada, and the Encantado Canyon.
  • Real contact with the quilombola communities of Taboca, Boa Esperança, Mumbuca, Prata, and Rio Novo.
  • Comfortable guesthouse stays in São Félix do Tocantins, Mateiros, and Ponte Alta do Tocantins.
  • Activities guided by experienced local Jalapão experts (English-speaking guide 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

  • DepartureFrom Palmas at 7:15 AM (airport or hotel)
  • 4x4 transferPalmas → São Félix · 280 km · ~4.5h (170 km paved, 110 km dirt)
  • HikingMorro da Catedral · 1.6 km · ~2h (sunset views)

PlanetaEXO’s local partner picks you up in Palmas at 7:15 AM and drives toward São Félix do Tocantins, with a stop for a swim in the Peixinho River and lunch at Dona Irani’s restaurant in the Taboca community.

In the afternoon, your Jalapão adventure truly begins with a 2-hour climb up the 200-meter Morro da Catedral, which opens onto a wide sunset over the Cerrado before you settle into your guesthouse in São Félix.

Meals included: Lunch / Dinner

Low-angle view of the jalapão adventure landmark Catedral do Jalapão, a towering sandstone mesa rising above a lush green Cerrado hillside, with a trail marker sign visible among the rocks in the foreground and a partly cloudy blue sky above
Aerial panoramic view of the Cerrado savanna at dusk during a Jalapão adventure, with a flat-topped butte silhouetted on the horizon under a pink and orange sky, and scattered palm trees across the vast green lowlands
A bright red male and a vivid yellow female tanager perched side by side on a bare lichen-covered branch, set against a soft green bokeh background — a colourful wildlife sighting on a Jalapão adventure.
Three tall buriti palm silhouettes against a vivid orange and gold sunset sky, with a flat-topped mesa and Cerrado scrubland in the distance — a classic Jalapão adventure landscape

Day 2

Seasonal Route (Boa Esperança & Rafting)

  • Hiking9.5 km · ~3.5h · Boa Esperança & fervedouros
  • ChoiceAraras Waterfall or 10 km rafting down the Soninho River
  • HikingTravessia da Velha · 12 km (15.5 km total · ~4.5h)
  • RaftingCachoeira da Velha · ~4h

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 9.5 km hike to the Boa Esperança community crosses the Cerrado and passes fervedouros. After lunch at Fervedouro Jatobá, you choose between the Araras Waterfall or rafting 10 km down the Soninho River and then have dinner in the Prata community before returning to São Félix. (47 km dirt road, ~1.5h.)

Dry season (May–October)

A 12 km hike along the Travessia da Velha leads to Cachoeira da Velha, with a picnic on a Novo River beach, then a 4-hour rafting run down class IV rapids, and at sunset, a 3.5 km trail to the ecolodge. (80 km dirt road, ~2h.)

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Aerial view of a wide multi-tiered waterfall system on a Jalapão adventure, where white rapids tumble over dark rock ledges into a rushing river flanked by dense green Cerrado vegetation and open grassland
A group of helmeted rafters in an orange inflatable raft cheer beneath the crashing curtain of a wide waterfall during a Jalapão adventure, with mist and white water filling the frame
A group of travelers in helmets and life vests pose on rocks between two cascading waterfalls during a Jalapão adventure, with water droplets caught mid-air by the camera lens and a lone tree rising above the falls against a blue sky
A helmeted hiker in a blue jacket stands on a rocky ledge beneath a thundering waterfall during a Jalapão adventure, surrounded by mist and rust-coloured canyon walls
A silky waterfall drops through dense tropical forest onto moss-covered rocks, feeding a fast-moving stream over rust-coloured boulders on a Jalapão adventure trail
A trekking path in a dense tropical forest meets a dark-watered stream during a Jalapão adventure, with a fallen log bridging the muddy bank and lush palm understorey on both sides
A vivid cobalt-blue songbird with an orange beak perches on a weathered wooden stump against a soft green background, spotted on a Jalapão adventure in Brazil's Cerrado
Two purple wildflowers in sharp focus in the foreground during a jalapão adventure hike, with three trekkers walking through green Cerrado scrubland under a blue sky in the background

Day 3

Fervedouros / Formiga Waterfall / Mateiros

  • FervedourosBuritizinho float
  • Hiking4 km · ~1.5h · to Encontro das Águas
  • Formiga Waterfallvisit

Start in the fervedouros: float in the clear Buritizinho, then hike 4 km to Encontro das Águas, where the Formiga and Soninho rivers meet.

After lunch in the Mumbuca community, known for its golden-grass handicraft, visit the Formiga Waterfall and reach Mateiros to rest in the late afternoon. (95 km dirt road, ~3h.)

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

A turquoise fervedouro natural pool fed by a small waterfall cascades into crystal-clear water surrounded by dense green forest on a Jalapão adventure
Split-level underwater shot of a woman in a red bikini floating in a crystal-clear fervedouro natural spring surrounded by dense tropical vegetation on a Jalapão adventure
Aerial top-down view of a circular milky-turquoise fervedouro natural spring surrounded by dense buriti palm canopies and tropical vegetation in Jalapão
Dense cluster of small magenta wildflowers with yellow stamens on slender green stems, typical of Cerrado flora on a jalapão adventure

Day 4

Serra do Espírito Santo / Jalapão Dunes / Ponte Alta

  • Sunrise trekSerra do Espírito Santo · 200 m plateau
  • Jalapão dunes& Pixico Beach (Novo River)
  • Transfer→ Ponte Alta do Tocantins

Before dawn, trek up the Serra do Espírito Santo for sunrise over the park. Back down the hill, you walk the golden Jalapão dunes, then cool off at Pixico Beach on the Novo River.

Lunch is at Mr. Adélio Curicata’s restaurant in the Rio Novo community. The day ends at a guesthouse in Ponte Alta do Tocantins. (180 km dirt road, ~4.5h.)

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

A traveler sits on a rocky cliff edge at sunrise on a Jalapão adventure, gazing over a vast Cerrado plateau with golden light fanning across the horizon and a distant mesa in view
Wide panoramic view of a flat-topped sandstone plateau covered in Cerrado vegetation during a Jalapão adventure, with golden afternoon light on the escarpment and a cloudy blue sky stretching to the horizon
Aerial view of a couple holding hands on the vast golden Jalapão sand dunes, with green shrubs, a river edge, and a dramatic mesa escarpment under a stormy sky — a quiet moment on a Jalapão adventure.
Warm golden light rakes across the flat-topped sandstone escarpment and a conical peak of Serra do Espírito Santo, with buriti palms dotting the Cerrado savanna in the foreground during a Jalapão adventure

Day 5

Encantado Canyon / Pedra Furada / Back to Palmas

  • Pedra Furadaancient rock formation
  • HikingEncantado Canyon · 5.2 km round trip · up to 5 waterfalls
  • Transfer→ Palmas · arrive ~7:30 PM

The last day starts at Pedra Furada, a sandstone rock with a natural hole that frames the park behind it. The hike into the Encantado Canyon (about 5.2 km round trip) passes up to five waterfalls, depending on the season. After lunch at Dona Rosa’s restaurant in Ponte Alta do Tocantins, you transfer back to Palmas, arriving around 7:30 PM. (308 km, ~3h.) This is the end of your 5-day Japalão adventure.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch

A traveler in a teal 'live an adventure' shirt gazes up at multiple waterfalls cascading down tall red sandstone cliffs into an ochre-colored pool during a Jalapão adventure hike
View through a natural sandstone arch at Pedra Furada, framing a fiery orange sunset over a green Cerrado canopy during a Jalapão adventure

What is Included

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

Not included

  • Flight tickets
  • Travel insurance
  • Accommodation and meals in Palmas
  • Breakfast on the first day and dinner on the last day
  • English-speaking guides (available on request, at extra cost, subject to availability)
  • Optional tours and personal expenses (laundry, phone calls, tips, etc.)

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$ 800/ per person