4-day Trip in Jalapão from Palmas
Planeta Exo
TripsBrazilJalapão

4-day Trip in Jalapão from Palmas

Brazil
3 Nights·4 Days
JalapãoCultural & Community ExperiencesActive Adventures

Overview

Your Jalapão trip begins in Palmas, the capital of Tocantins and the gateway to one of the most stunning landscapes in Jalapão in Brazil. Over four days you enjoy scenic hikes, refreshing swims in crystal-clear waterfalls, floating in the famous fervedouros (natural springs impossible to sink in), serene river beaches, and an adrenaline-pumping rafting session on the Soninho River, depending on the season.

This Jalapão trip also offers a cultural immersion into quilombola communities, with comfortable stays in cozy guesthouses in São Félix do Tocantins and Mateiros. We call this adventure Volta ao Parque (VAP): exploring the beauty of Jalapão State Park on carefully planned trails that go against the traditional tourism flow, one step at a time.

  • A full itinerary: hiking, fervedouros, waterfalls, rafting, and river beaches.
  • A deep dive into the less-visited areas of Jalapão State Park in Brazil, reachable only by 4x4.
  • Iconic landmarks: Velha and Formiga waterfalls, Buritizinho and Encontro das Águas fervedouros, Serra do Espírito Santo, the Jalapão dunes, and the Novo River.
  • Engagement with local quilombola communities (Taboca, Boa Esperança, Mumbuca, Prata, and Rio Novo).
  • Comfortable stays in different inns across São Félix do Tocantins and Mateiros.
  • All-inclusive experience: round-trip transfer, accommodation, meals, and local guides.

  • Please note: This is the Volta ao Parque (VAP), an active, off-the-beaten-path circuit of Jalapão State Park reached only by 4×4, with full days of hiking, fervedouros, waterfalls, and rafting. Day 2 changes with the season, and Day 4 starts at 4 AM to catch the sunrise. Breakfast on Day 1 and dinner on the last day are not included.

Itinerary

Day 1

Arrival in São Félix / Morro da Catedral hike

  • DepartureFrom Palmas at 7:15 AM (airport or hotel)
  • 4x4 transferPalmas → São Félix · 280 km · ~4h35 (170 km paved, 110 km dirt)
  • HikingMorro da Catedral · 1.6 km · ~2 hrs (sunset views)

PlanetaEXO's local partner picks you up in Palmas at 7:15 AM toward São Félix do Tocantins, with stops along the way: a refreshing swim at the Peixinho River and lunch at Dona Irani's restaurant in the Taboca community. In the afternoon, a 2-hour trek up Morro da Catedral, a 200-meter peak and one of Jalapão's most iconic landmarks, rewards you with a breathtaking sunset, before settling into your inn in São Félix.

Meals included: Lunch / Dinner

Aerial panorama of a vast Cerrado savanna at dusk on a jalapão trip, with a lone flat-topped butte silhouetted against a pink and orange sky on the horizon
Low-angle view of the massive sandstone pillar of Catedral do Jalapão rising above a green cerrado hillside, with a circular trail marker sign visible among the rocks in the foreground and a blue sky with scattered clouds above, on a jalapão trip

Day 2

Seasonal route (Boa Esperança & rafting)

  • Hiking9.5 km · ~3.5 hrs · Boa Esperança (Mateiros) & fervedouros
  • ChoiceAraras Waterfall or 10 km rafting down the Soninho River
  • HikingTravessia da Velha · 12 km (15.5 km total · ~4.5 hrs)
  • RaftingCachoeira da Velha · ~4 hrs · Class IV

This day changes with the season:

Rainy season (November–April)

A morning 9 km hike to the Boa Esperança community passes Cerrado vegetation and fervedouros. After lunch around Fervedouro Jatobá, choose between visiting the Araras Waterfall or rafting over 10 km down the Soninho River, then dinner in the Prata community before returning to São Félix. (47 km on dirt road, ~1.5 hrs.)

Dry season (May–October)

A 12 km hike along the Travessia da Velha leads to the beloved Cachoeira da Velha, with a picnic on a Novo River beach. Then a thrilling 4-hour Class IV rafting trip, and at sunset a 3.5 km trail to the ecolodge for the night. (80 km on dirt road, ~2 hrs.)

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Aerial view of a wide multi-tiered waterfall on a Jalapão trip, where a river drops over iron-rich rock ledges into a churning gorge flanked by dense Cerrado gallery forest and open grassland
An orange inflatable raft moored on rocky shore in front of a wide curtain waterfall during a Jalapão trip, with green cerrado forest framing a blue sky above
A group of helmeted rafters in an orange inflatable raft sheltering beside dark rocks as a massive waterfall curtain crashes down during a jalapão trip on the Soninho River
A tannin-stained stream meets clearer water along a narrow dirt trail bordered by dense tropical forest vegetation on a jalapão trip

Day 3

Fervedouros / Formiga Waterfall / Mateiros

  • FervedourosBuritizinho float
  • Hiking4 km · ~1.5 hrs · to Encontro das Águas
  • Formiga WaterfallOne of Tocantins' most iconic sites

Enjoy one of the most incredible attractions of any Jalapão trip: the fervedouros. Float in the blue-green waters of Buritizinho, then hike 4 km to Encontro das Águas, where the Formiga and Soninho rivers meet. After lunch in the Mumbuca community, visit the Formiga Waterfall, arriving in Mateiros to rest in the late afternoon. (95 km on dirt road, ~3 hrs.)

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Aerial drone view of four people floating spread-eagle in a small circular fervedouro natural spring on a jalapão trip, surrounded by dense tropical vegetation with broad banana-like leaves
A woman in a red swimsuit wading through the calm, pale green waters of a fervedouro on a Jalapão trip, surrounded by lush tropical vegetation including banana trees
Woman in a red bikini floating underwater in the crystal-clear turquoise water of a fervedouro natural spring on a jalapão trip, with a white sandy bottom and lush tropical foliage above the waterline
Panoramic view over a vast cerrado landscape during a jalapão trip, with a flat-topped sandstone mesa silhouetted on the horizon beneath a dramatic sky of rose and amber clouds at sunset

Day 4

Serra do Espírito Santo / Jalapão Dunes / Back to Palmas

  • Sunrise trekSerra do Espírito Santo · 4:00 AM · 200 m plateau
  • Jalapão dunesGolden dunes & Novo River beach
  • Transfer→ Palmas · arrive ~7:30 PM

At 4 AM, trek up the Serra do Espírito Santo, a 200-meter sandstone plateau, to watch the sunrise over the park. Down the hill, visit the golden Jalapão dunes and relax at a Novo River beach. In the Rio Novo community, savor the last meal of your Jalapão trip before returning to Palmas.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch

Panoramic view from a high sandstone escarpment on a jalapão trip, looking out over green cerrado vegetation and flat-topped mesas stretching to the horizon under a partly cloudy sky
A traveler sits on a sandstone cliff edge at sunrise during a Jalapão trip, looking out over a vast green plateau and distant mesa under a wide blue sky
Golden sand dunes with wind-rippled ridges in the foreground of a jalapão trip highlight, backed by a green belt of cerrado vegetation and a flat-topped sandstone escarpment under a partly cloudy sky
Aerial view of a couple holding hands on the golden sand dunes of Jalapão trip, with green shrubs, a river, and a dramatic sandstone escarpment under a cloudy sky
Intense orange and red sunset sky over silhouetted cerrado tree canopy on a jalapão trip, with dramatic layered clouds glowing gold above the darkened landscape

What is Included

  • Accommodation: 2 nights in São Félix do Tocantins and 1 night in Mateiros, in comfortable guesthouses
  • Meals: full board, plus mineral water during all activities
  • Transfers: round-trip 4x4 transfer (Palmas ⇌ Jalapão)
  • Activities & tours: guided hiking, fervedouros, waterfalls, rafting, and river beaches, with entrance fees for all activities
  • Guide: expert local guides and interaction with local communities

Not included

  • Flights: flight tickets
  • Accommodation: accommodation in Palmas (before/after the tour)
  • Meals: breakfast on the first day and dinner on the last day
  • Drinks: drinks other than the included mineral water during activities
  • Travel insurance: travel insurance
  • Bilingual-guide upgrade: English-speaking guides, on request and at additional cost (subject to availability)
  • Personal expenses & tips: optional tours, laundry, phone calls, and other personal expenses
  • Any services not previously mentioned

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From

$ 550/ per person