Visiting the Brazilian Cerrado

The city of Pirenópolis is located in the State of Goiás, but pretty close to Brasília. It is just a 2 hour drive to get to the beautiful and distinctive Cidade dos Pireneus. The road is nice and full of nature. When you get there, look for the historic center: its where the Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora do Rosário is located. For the goiano people (as the residents of the State of Goiás are called), it is the largest center of Catholic faith. For the tourist, on the other hand, what usually matters is its architecture and colonial style.

After visiting the Matriz de Pirenópolis, you can cool off in the Abade and Lázaro waterfalls, both very popular in the region. Take the car and follow the path that leads to the Pyrenees Park. Before arriving at the waterfalls, you will need to cover asphalt and dirt trails, besides a trail on foot. For each of the waterfalls, there's a distinct path, but of similar distances. These are not very exhaustive trails, and the natural beauty is rewarding, especially due to the very little effort.

North of Brasilia, is the Chapada dos Veadeiros. It is worth facing the 3 hours and a half drive to the National Park, with a green area of 65,514 ha, considered a world natural heritage. Needless to say, here there is a lot of waterfalls, trails and animal and plant species. A hippie paradise, the Chapada's fame also attracts curious tourists who wish to know whether there is life beyond Earth. The 1.6 thousand m in altitude region, is ideal for spotting unidentified flying objects, or UFOs.

Before the end of the day, it is still possible to visit the Vale da Lua, that is located outside of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park. At Vale the Lua you will find curious rock formations carved by the rapids of transparent waters of the São Miguel River. It took 600 million years to acquire the current form, as if they were Lunar craters.

The São Jorge village is another charming spot of the Chapada. With no asphalt, the town has many bars and restaurants. Nothing like having a beer at night and in peace. Local trade consists of craft, it's always a good idea to take a souvenir home.