7-Day Chapada Diamantina Trek Travel

7-Day Chapada Diamantina Trek

9 Days / 8 Nights

Hiking Tours of Brazil

Our Hiking Tours of Brazil are all basic ideas that can be tailor-made to match your requirements. Any tour can include one or more destinations, and can be purely dedicated to hiking, although some mountains may include a little climbing that is still suitable for those without much experience. We can also arrange serious climbing trips. We can also mix them with other activities such as climbing, kayaking or tandem hang-gliding flights, some regular tourism, and some nightlife. We include all that you need during your trip, the accommodation with breakfast; all airport transfers and other road journeys; any activities and excursions with English-speaking guides and relevant entrance fees; plus some popular extras. For our Hiking Tours of Brazil, you only need to bring your favourite hiking boots and regular outdoor clothing and equipment. Any parts where a little climbing is necessary will include ropes, helmets and safety harnesses. All hikes and climbs are undertaken with an experienced, qualified local guide, with activity insurance included. 

This trek through the heart of the Chapada Diamantina National Park takes you from one side to the other, crossing mountains and rivers, and traversing riverbeds and canyons. The imposing Cachoeira da Fumaça drops into a hidden canyon, while the remote Vale do Pati also hides its natural treasures away from the world. Buracao and Poço Azul are two of the most picturesque sights in the park, and they finish your trek around Chapada Diamantina.

Combines With: Any other Chapada Diamantina Treks and Activities; Salvador

Best Time to Visit: This tour can be taken all year round with the Chapada Diamantina National Park being a little cooler than the North-East Brazil coast, especially at night. April and May are the wet season months in Bahia although inland can still be quite dry even at this time. The advantage of doing the trek with a little rain around is that the waterfalls dropping from the flat-topped mountains are more likely to have plenty of water.

 

from $ USD

7-Day Chapada Diamantina Trek

9 Days / 8 Nights


Destinations Visited

  • Salvador
  • Lençois & Chapada Diamantina

Trip Style

Adventure

Activities Included

  • Hiking & Trekking
  • Ecotourism

Tailor Made Tours

All our Brazil and South America Tours, are completely flexible with regards to dates, duration or the tours, activities and accommodation that we can include. All the tours featured on our website are our recommendations based on our experience of how to make the very best of your time in South America. We can adjust these details in any way that you wish. We are here to organise a tour that suits you after all!

Itinerary

Day 1
Arrive in Chapada Diamantina

Destination: Salvador to Lençois

You travel from Salvador to Lençois in the Bahia interior, either by plane (Thursday/Sunday only), public bus or private vehicle. The road west from Salvador passes market towns, plantations, and the dry lands of the Sertao, the Brazilian desert interior. The area around the old diamond mining town of Lençois and the National Park of Chapada Diamantina is an oasis in the dusty outback. Flat-topped mountains rise to 1600m, and the valleys between them are covered in lush forests and tumbling waterfalls. After arriving you can explore the cobbled streets of the charming colonial town, or swim at the beautiful Serrano Falls a short walk upriver.
Day 2
Hiking into the Hills

Destination: Lençois to Rio Capivari

You begin your Chapada Diamantina Trek straight from the village of Lençois, striking out for the hills above town. The first 8km of the 12km to hike are in the open, traversing the rocky and with fabulous views back down to town and beyond, climbing 400m to 840m asl or so. Orchids add splashes of colour to the landscape. First stop can be the highly dangerous rock slide on Ribeirao do Meio! After a trail lunch with a view, you drop down to the next valley, there is some difficult hiking up the rocks of a riverbed, which can be difficult in wet weather. Camp is above Cachoeira Capivara, with tents placed under the overhanging rocks. After dinner you can fall asleep to the noise of the river.
Day 3
Fumaça from Below

Destination: Rio Capivari to Fumaça Canyon

A quick morning dip in the river to wake yourselves up and refresh can also include a 6m cliff jump into the pool below the falls for those who dare! You continue up the riverbed of the Rio Capivara until you reach the entrance to the deep canyon into which falls Cachoeira da Fumaça, the highest waterfall in Bahia at some 390m - so high that the water doesn't reach the bottom! After leaving your bags, you hike up the 3km long canyon to the pool in the afternoon, with dizzying views up the canyon walls. After time for a quick swim you return to the campsite at the canyon mouth to spend the night. The day involves only around 8km of hiking but it can be tough and technical.
Day 4
Fumaça from Above

Destination: Fumaça Canyon to Caete-Açu

Morning brings the tough climb out of the canyon to the flat summit of the Serra do Sincora above, the first 2km of hiking including some steep scrambling in the 500m of climb. Another km of flatter ground takes you the top of Fumaça with fabulous views back down the canyon that you already hiked. The views along the valley and to other chapadas are stunning. You can also peer down to the lake from an overhanging rock... if you dare! The final part of this section of your trek is the 4km flat hike across the summit, before the stunning Vale do Capao opens out before you, and you descend the steep 1.5km to the bottom, then the final section to your accommodation in the valley.
Day 5
Falls and Caves of the Pati Valley

Destination: Vale do Pati

After breakfast, a 12km day of hiking the old trails of the remote and enclosed Vale do Pati begins. The first trail follows the riverbed of the Rio Funis, passing various cascades until you reach the waterfall of the same name. Cachoeira dos Funis provides another stop for lunch and a swim in the pools. The trail continues up to the top of the Serra da Lapinha, where you will find the Gruta do Castelo (Cave of the Castle), a huge quartzite cave. The cave passes right through the mountain to the other side, giving views of both sides of the Pati Valley, although never at the same time! After time for photos from way above the valley, you return to the bottom.
Day 6
Valley Vistas

Destination: Caete-Açu to Vale do Pati

Today's hike takes you a little further into the Vale do Capao where you begin a hike of 22km with the trail out of the valley. Climbing up the Bomba trail, you reach the head of the valley with stunning views all the way down the Vale do Capao, and verdant chapadas stretching up on either side. After traversing the high meadows of the Gerais do Vieira and the Rio Preto, a stop for lunch high on the escarpment gives a wonderful view of the Serra da Lapinha in the middle of the valley and down into the Vale do Pati below it. After dropping back down to the head of the Pati Valley, you spend the night in simple local accommodation with a warm welcome and warm regional food.
Day 7
Above the Big Waterfall

Destination: Vale do Pati

As if the scenery around the Vale do Pati wasn't already fantastic, today's 15km takes you to perhaps the most scenic point in the valley and of the trek. Perhaps... Cachoeirao is the big waterfall, with a drop of around 300m in up to 20 falls in the wet season of April and May. The best view of these falls is from the opposite side of Pati, from a rock ledge that looks down on the falls and down, down to the bottom of the valley directly below. This vertigo-inducing view is one of the best in the whole Chapada Diamantina National Park, and your photos from here are likely to be amongst your very favourites of Brazil or anywhere else. The day finishes down in the valley .
Day 8
Striding Out of the Pati Valley

Destination: Vale do Pati to Guine & Lençois

The final day of your trek begins with the climb out of the Vale do Pati, the hardest part of the 15km route to the village of Guine. The major part of the hike is across the Rio do Preto meadows, crossing the Black River along the way, its waters coloured by the soil of the surrounding hills. The final part of the trek is the descent of the Morro do Beco, the old pack-horse and mining trail to Pati. The trail drops steeply through a chasm in the escarpment, with long-distance views over the flat lands surrounding the Chapada Diamantina National Park and even to the mountains in the west of Bahia, bordering the states of Goias and Tocantins. You return from Guine to Lençois by road.
Day 9
Hiking out of Bahia

Destination: Lençois to Salvador & Away

Your Seven Day Chapada Diamantina Trek finishes with the land or air journey back to Salvador, connecting there to onward destinations. Your week of hiking in the park can be extended to take in more trails and sights such as the spectacular Buracao and many more falls. You can also mountain bike around the outer edges. We can also include this trek as part of a longer Brazil Tour, with great hiking and trekking options in Rio de Janeiro and on the Costa Verde, or Amazon treks such as Mt Roraima or in the Amazon. You could also finish your stay in Bahia, relaxing at island paradises such as Morro de Sao Paulo and Boipeba.

Prices

* Domestic Flights Estimated Price
N/A
** Prices Per Adult based on two people travelling and sharing accommodation
Simple B&B
On Request
3 Stars
On Request
4 Stars
On Request
5 Stars
On Request

* Prices vary depending on travel dates and flight availability. Peak periods in Brazil including Carnaval, public holidays and Christmas/New Year usually require a minimum number of nights, so in these cases itineraries may need to be changed.

** Domestic flight prices are estimated on typical values when reserved six months before travel. Prices can never be guaranteed until reservations are made, and do usually become more expensive closer to the travel period.


* Domestic Flights Estimated Price ** Prices Per Adult based on two people travelling and sharing accommodation
N/A
Simple 3 Stars 4 Stars Luxury
On Request
On Request
On Request
On Request
 

* Prices vary depending on travel dates and flight availability. Peak periods in Brazil including Carnaval, public holidays and Christmas/New Year usually require a minimum number of nights, so in these cases itineraries may need to be changed.

** Domestic flight prices are estimated on typical values when reserved six months before travel. Prices can never be guaranteed until reservations are made, and do usually become more expensive closer to the travel period.