Chapada Diamantina

Chapada Diamantina sits in the centre of Bahia: sandstone cliffs, deep valleys, dark tannin-stained rivers and ridges rising past a thousand metres. The nineteenth-century diamond diggings founded the region's villages, and their old townhouses are what greet you today.

Each town opens a different route. Lençóis is the busiest gateway, minutes from the Marimbus wetlands and the Mucugezinho river. Palmeiras holds Morro do Pai Inácio; Vale do Capão is the base for treks into the Vale do Pati. Iraquara has the Lapa Doce cave and Pratinha; Poço Azul is in Nova Redenção and Poço Encantado in Itaetê. Mucugê and Ibicoara lead to the Fumacinha waterfall.

On Vivai, every trip in the Chapada is run by guides and agencies who live there.