Brazil🇧🇷 | national parksParque Estadual do JalapãoFervedouro springs, rust-colored dunes, 4x4 sand tracks, Tocantins cerrado | things to do and best time to go

Parque Estadual do Jalapão covers roughly 1,600 square kilometers of the eastern Tocantins savanna, and most walking here means short hops from a vehicle track rather than long through-hikes. Terrain is flat to gently rolling cerrado, golden grass dunes, sandy tracks, flat-topped mesas and clear rivers. Expect loose sand underfoot, little shade and a lot of sun.

• Cachoeira da Velha: Cachoeira da Velha is a wide, roughly 100-meter-long curtain of water on the Rio Novo, reached by a short, easy walk of about 10 to 15 minutes on sand and rock. Allow an hour for swimming and photos.
• Fervedouros: the

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Parque Estadual do Jalapão covers roughly 1,600 square kilometers of the eastern Tocantins savanna, and most walking here means short hops from a vehicle track rather than long through-hikes. Terrain is flat to gently rolling cerrado, golden grass dunes, sandy tracks, flat-topped mesas and clear rivers. Expect loose sand underfoot, little shade and a lot of sun.

• Cachoeira da Velha: Cachoeira da Velha is a wide, roughly 100-meter-long curtain of water on the Rio Novo, reached by a short, easy walk of about 10 to 15 minutes on sand and rock. Allow an hour for swimming and photos.
• Fervedouros: the Fervedouro springs are sandy-bottomed pools where upwelling water keeps you afloat. Boardwalk or sand paths run a few minutes from the parking areas, easy for any fitness level. Plan 1 to 2 hours, since you will want to float.
• Dunas do Jalapão: the Serra do Espírito Santo dunes are orange sand dunes backed by a mesa. The climb is a steep, loose-sand scramble of about 20 to 40 minutes, moderate in effort, and the top gives a wide view over the cerrado at golden hour.
• Pedra Furada: Pedra Furada is a rock arch on a plateau, reached by a walk of about 30 to 45 minutes on a gently rising sandy and rocky path, rated easy to moderate. The arch frames the plains below.
• Rio Sono and Rio Novo banks: riverside strolls of 30 to 60 minutes lead to quiet beaches with tea-colored water, flat and easy, good for a swim after a hot morning.

Wildlife includes the maned wolf, giant anteater, rheas, toucans and macaws, with the best chances early in the morning along quiet tracks. Capim dourado, the golden grass used in local handicrafts, covers open fields.

Practical details: Parque Estadual do Jalapão has no real public transport inside it, and the nearest bus links reach towns outside such as Mateiros and São Félix do Tocantins, so most backpackers join a shared tour or hire a 4x4 with a driver, since sandy tracks swallow ordinary cars. Going independently takes a capable vehicle and a local guide. Crowds stay thin outside school holidays and long weekends, and trails never feel packed. Some attractions sit on private land or charge their own small entry fees, usually a few US dollars, paid in cash in reais, so carry small notes. Bring plenty of water, sun protection and shoes you can get wet.