Complexo Arqueológico Serra das Paridas

Serra das Paridas, in Lençóis, Bahia: 18 archaeological sites with rock paintings of people, animals and geometric shapes, including the so-called "ET" figure.

Serra das Paridas is a set of 18 archaeological sites with rock paintings on stone walls. The panels show human figures, animals and geometric shapes, and the best known of them is the one people call the "ET", because its outline suggests an extraterrestrial figure.

The name "Paridas" (roughly, "those that have given birth") has two explanations in circulation: a painting of a pregnant woman, and the cows that used to calve here. Neither is settled, and both say something about how later visitors read a place made by much earlier hands.

The visit is short and undemanding. It is about 36 km by car from Lençóis, then 500 m on foot to reach the panels, with an average visit of 30 minutes. The physical effort is rated as light.

Lençóis is one of the six municipalities of Parque Nacional da Chapada Diamantina, along with Andaraí, Ibicoara, Itaetê, Mucugê and Palmeiras. Being in the municipality is not the same as being inside the park: the park's rules, such as ICMBio's recommendation to hire a visitor guide because the trails are not signposted, apply to whatever lies within its boundaries.

There is currently no active experience in the Vivai catalogue for Serra das Paridas. Other destinations in Lençóis do appear, among them Ribeirão do Meio, Cachoeira do Mosquito, Cachoeira do Sossego and Vale do Pati.