Chapada Diamantina attractions: what to see

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The Chapada Diamantina is a natural paradise made up of spectacular mountains, waterfalls, marshy areas and caves. The town of Lençóis is an excellent base for visiting the many tourist attractions of the Chapada Diamantina.

LENÇÓIS

The city of Lençóis, 410 km west of Salvador, was founded by gold miners in 1845. The origin of the name seems to be due to the tents of the gold miners (garimpeiros), which at the time extended in quantity such that seen from above, they looked like sheets (lençóis in Portuguese).

Lençóis attracts many visitors and offers many tourist services and infrastructure including several restaurants, hotels and inns. This is thanks to its architecture, a legacy of the time when Lençóis was the center of diamond seekers, and to the fact that it is the main tourist center of the Chapada Diamantina.

Serrano, the diamond area closest to Lençóis, is a very beautiful area, with small multi-colored stones and many holes full of water. The town is used as a base for visiting the tourist attractions of the Chapada Diamantina.

GRUTA LAPA DOCE

Located in Iraquara, in the Chapada Diamantina, this cave can be reached through a pleasant walk. It belongs to a complex of caves called Lapa Doce I, II and III.

Inside this cave, there are geological formations of rare beauty, including limestone formations that have color combinations ranging from red to white. The cave system of Lapa Doce has a length of 17.0 km. The cave system of Lapa Doce is considered one of the ten largest in Brazil. This is one of the tourist attractions of the Chapada Diamantina.

The Lapa Doce caves are made up of large galleries, which often have heights greater than 50 meters and widths greater than 15 meters.

GRUTA PRATINHA

The Pratinha cave is located in the municipality of Iraquara, and is formed by the Pratinha river which has its only visible part of the course here, because the river has an underground course for about 150 km, in fact, it originates in the São Francisco river sertão.

The Pratinha cave extends for about 100 meters and has a depth of 1 to 2 meters. Wonderful is the view of a huge crystal clear lake that materializes when you go down the stairs that lead to the cave.

The Pratinha cave is a formation similar to the nearby Gruta Azul (Blue Grotto). Here the river flows into a clear crystal lake which is excellent for swimming and diving. Here you can swim in the lake.

A short distance from the Pratinha cave there is also the Gruta Azul.

GRUTA AZUL

The Blue Grotto (Gruta Azul) is a limestone quarry located a few steps from Pratinha. This cave consists of the same groundwater that emerges in the Pratinha Cave.

Entering the mouth of the cave, the sun’s rays reach the inner lake, creating a breathtaking visual spectacle, the color of the water has wonderful shades of intense blue thanks to the minerals present in the water, in particular magnesium.

MARIMBUS PANTANAL

The Marimbus Pantanal is a beautiful wetland in the Chapada Diamantina, a region similar to the Pantanal in southwestern Brazil. The journey usually starts from the village of Remanso, which was the first settlement in the region.

Remanso was founded by slaves freed after slavery in the state of Bahia was abolished. This is where the canoe trip (which lasts about 2 hours) along the Marimbus river begins.

At the end of the canoe trip, after a short walk you can reach the Cachoeira del Rio Roncador for a relaxing bath.

The return to Lençóis is an adventure with a 4×4 through unthinkable fords of rivers.

MORRO DO PAI INÁCIO

Morro do Pai Inácio, a mountain with a tabular shape, is the postcard of the Chapada Diamantina. The upper part is located at 1,120 meters above sea level, and offers a sensational view of the region. The name of the mountain derives from a local legend that says that a fugitive slave named Inácio, who was chased by the master, jumped from the top of the hill and survived.

The landscape, the geological structure and the plant species that grow there form a unique eco-system. Morro do Pai Inácio is located on the border between the Chapada Diamantina National Park and the Marimbus-Iraquara Protected Area. The climate is tropical (semi-humid), with rainfall during the months between November and February.

The climate of the Chapada Diamantina.

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