6-day Jalapão Trekking Tour
Planeta Exo
TripsBrazilJalapão

6-day Jalapão Trekking Tour

Brazil
5 Nights·6 Days
JalapãoHiking & TrekkingActive Adventures

Overview

Join a point-to-point crossing on foot through Jalapão State Park, one of Brazil’s most preserved wildernesses. Over the days, cover more than 50 km of trails across golden dunes, clear-water river beaches, and open Cerrado, with the least-visited corners reached only by 4×4.

We call this experience Jalapoeira Crossing. Unlike the vehicle-based circuits, this Jalapão trekking immersion has your feet carry you between the sights: Velha and Formiga waterfalls, Buritizinho and Encontro das Águas fervedouros (natural springs where you cannot sink), Serra do Espírito Santo, and the dunes. It adds Class IV rafting on the Novo River and nights with the quilombola communities of Boa Esperança, Mumbuca, and Rio Novo.

Nights alternate between simple inns, camping, and local family homes, so this trip trades hotel comfort for real connection with nature. As a Jalapão trekking tour, it sits at the demanding end, built for travelers with a good fitness level who would rather walk the park than drive it.

  • Full itinerary: the Jalapão fervedouros, waterfalls, daily trekking, Class IV rafting, and river beaches.
  • Go deep into Jalapão State Park’s least-visited areas, reachable only by 4x4.
  • Standout sights: the Velha and Formiga waterfalls, the Buritizinho and Encontro das Águas fervedouros, Serra do Espírito Santo, the Jalapão dunes, and the Novo River.
  • Nights and meals with the quilombola communities of Boa Esperança, Mumbuca, and Rio Novo.
  • Sleep in a mix of inns, campsites, and locals’ homes across São Félix do Tocantins and Mateiros.
  • Activities led by experienced local guides, with English-speaking guides available on request.
  • All-inclusive: round-trip transfer, accommodation, meals, and expert local guides.

  • Please note: the Jalapão Crossing is a seasonal, expedition-style trek, run only a few times a year, usually in the dry season and around the full moon. The plan below is a guide and may shift with weather, water levels, and the season.

Itinerary

Day 1

Arrival in São Félix / Soninho River / Morro da Catedral

  • DeparturePalmas · 7 AM (airport or hotel)
  • Driving237 km · ~3.5 h
  • Trekking6.8 km · ~5 h

Your Jalapão trekking adventure starts in Palmas, where our local partner picks you up from the airport or your hotel at 7 AM and drives to São Félix do Tocantins. On the way, stop at the Peixinho River source for a first swim. You should reach the lodge around 1 PM.

After check-in, hike back to the river (1.2 km) for lunch on its banks and a swim, then set off on a 2.8 km round-trip trek up Morro da Catedral to watch the sunset over Jalapão State Park.

Meals included: Lunch / Dinner

Low-angle view up a lush green hillside toward a large flat-topped sandstone rock formation, with a Catedral do Jalapão trail marker sign on a boulder in the foreground under a blue sky with scattered clouds
A vivid red tanager and a golden-yellow tanager perched side by side on a bare branch against a soft green cerrado background, spotted during a Jalapão trekking experience.
A wide cerrado grassland at sunset during a Jalapão trekking route, with the sun setting low on the horizon behind silhouetted trees and a dramatic cloudy sky glowing orange and gold
A slender red and orange tropical flower with dark-tipped petals rises above dense green cerrado shrubs on a Jalapão trekking trail
A thatched open-air shelter with hammocks sits on a low stone platform beside a clear, shallow river in Jalapão, with green cerrado hills and a dramatic cloudy sky behind it; a traveler in a bikini stands at the edge looking out over the water

Day 2

Travessia da Velha / Novo River / Class IV Rafting

  • Driving33 km · ~50 min
  • Trekking15.5 km · ~6 h
  • RaftingNovo River · Class IV

The Travessia da Velha, one of the best-loved treks in Jalapão, starts at 6 AM with an almost 12 km hike through green vegetation to the Cachoeira da Velha, a horseshoe-shaped waterfall. Lunch is outdoors on the trail.

The afternoon brings a Class IV rafting run down the Novo River, with stops at its clean, drinkable-water beaches. Then, hike over 3.5 km back to the lodge, arriving around 6 PM for dinner and a well-earned rest.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Five smiling rafters in yellow helmets and life jackets paddle an orange inflatable raft past a powerful waterfall on a Jalapão trekking and rafting adventure
An orange inflatable raft moored on rocky riverbanks in front of a wide horseshoe-shaped waterfall during a Jalapão trekking expedition, surrounded by cerrado forest under a blue sky
A hiker in a blue jacket and orange helmet stands on wet rocks beneath a massive waterfall overhang, looking up at the thundering cascade on a Jalapão trekking route
A silky waterfall drops through dense cerrado forest onto moss-covered boulders, feeding a fast-moving stream over rust-red rocks on a Jalapão trekking route
A vivid blue songbird with an orange beak perches on a weathered wooden stump against a soft green background, spotted during a Jalapão trekking day in cerrado habitat
Aerial view of a wide horseshoe-shaped waterfall on a rocky plateau surrounded by cerrado vegetation, with a small viewing platform visible on the right bank, seen during a Jalapão trekking route
A slender red and yellow tropical flower with black-tipped stamens rises against a soft bokeh background of sunlit green foliage on the Jalapão trekking trail

Day 3

Boa Esperança Community / Fervedouros / Prata Community

  • Driving5 km · ~10 min
  • Trekking15.5 km · ~6 h

At 6:30 AM, walk 3 km to the Fervedouro do Alecrim for a quick stop, then hike 9 km to Boa Esperança, a quilombola community led by Mr. Adão Ribeiro, where you learn about local customs and traditions. Lunch is with the community.

In the afternoon, continue to the Fervedouro Jatobá to float in its green-blue water, then reach the Prata community for dinner. The night is at a local’s house or, for extra privacy, a guesthouse in São Félix do Tocantins (at additional cost).

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Aerial view of a milky-white fervedouro natural spring pool surrounded by buriti palms and dense cerrado vegetation during a Jalapão trekking journey
A woman in a red swimsuit wading waist-deep in a clear, milky-blue natural spring surrounded by dense tropical foliage during a Jalapão trekking immersion, reaching her hand back toward the camera
Three tall buriti palm silhouettes against a vivid orange and gold sunset sky, with a flat-topped sandstone plateau on the horizon during a Jalapão trekking adventure
A maned wolf standing alert in dry cerrado grassland, its russet coat and long black legs clearly visible against the golden savanna scrub — a rare wildlife sighting on a Jalapão trekking route
Close-up of two purple wildflowers in cerrado scrubland during a Jalapão trekking day, with three hikers walking under a blue sky in the soft background

Day 4

Formiga Waterfall / Fervedouros / Mumbuca Community / Mateiros

  • Driving80 km · ~2 h
  • Trekking13 km · ~5 h

The day begins at the Cachoeira da Formiga, a must-see that pools into a crystal-blue natural well built for a long swim. Next, drive to the Fervedouro Buritizinho for more swimming, lunch, and a moment to relax.

From there, hike 4 km to Encontro das Águas, where the Formiga and Soninho rivers meet. In the late afternoon, visit the Mumbuca community, known worldwide for its capim-dourado (golden-grass) handicraft, before settling in Mateiros for the night.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Woman in a red bikini floating underwater in a crystal-clear fervedouro natural spring surrounded by lush tropical vegetation, a highlight of Jalapão trekking
Dense cluster of small magenta wildflowers with yellow stamens on slender green stems, typical of the cerrado flora encountered on a Jalapão trekking route
Local men and boys stand inside a thatched-roof brick building in the Mumbuca community, holding handcrafted objects including woven baskets, a gourd, bamboo poles and wooden tools as part of a cultural presentation during a Jalapão trekking visit
A small cascade on a Jalapão trekking route tumbles into a wide, crystal-clear turquoise pool surrounded by dense green forest
A group of travelers swimming and wading at the base of a cascading waterfall surrounded by dense tropical forest during a Jalapão trekking tour, with a PlanetaEXO branded towel hanging in the foreground
A waterfall cascades over dark rocks into a rocky pool, framed by dense cerrado trees on a Jalapão trekking route
Golden sunset over cerrado savanna during a Jalapão trekking route, with wild grass seed heads glowing red in the foreground and silhouetted trees against an orange sky

Day 5

Serra do Espírito Santo / Dunes of Jalapão / Pixico Beach / Rio Novo Community

  • Sunrise hikeSerra do Espírito Santo · 200 m plateau
  • Driving180 km · ~5 h
  • Trekking12.8 km · ~6 h

Before dawn, hike up Serra do Espírito Santo, a 200-meter sandstone plateau, for a sunrise over the whole park. Later, walk 3 km through typical Cerrado vegetation to the dune cliffs of Jalapão and follow a 6 km trail across the orange-gold sand framed by mountains.

Lunch is at Dona Deusa’s kitchen in the Rio Novo community, followed by a free afternoon at Pixico Beach. Have dinner and spend the night in Rio Novo (choose between camping or sleeping in hammocks under the stars).

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Panoramic view from the top of a sandstone plateau during a Jalapão trekking route, showing green cerrado-covered slopes, red cliff faces, and an expansive lowland stretching to the horizon under a wide sky with scattered clouds
A hiker in a blue shirt sits on the edge of a sandstone escarpment during Jalapão trekking, watching the sun set low over a vast cerrado plateau stretching to the horizon
Aerial view of a couple holding hands on vast golden sand dunes during a Jalapão trekking journey, with green shrubs, a river, and a dramatic sandstone escarpment under a stormy sky
Warm golden light rakes across the sandstone cliffs and cerrado palm savanna of Serra do Espírito Santo during a Jalapão trekking expedition, with a billowing cumulus cloud rising behind the plateau at dusk
Five green dome tents pitched in a row on white sand at the edge of dense cerrado forest during a Jalapão trekking expedition, with small folding stools in front of each tent under a blue sky
A glowing yellow tent pitched on a sandy river beach during a Jalapão trekking expedition, under a deep blue starlit sky with dense cerrado forest lining the opposite bank
A row of telescopes glowing amber in the foreground beneath a vast Milky Way-filled night sky on a Jalapão trekking expedition
Full moon rising over a dark river on a Jalapão trekking night, its light reflected in a bright trail across the still water, with a dense tree silhouette lining the far bank under a deep blue starry sky

Day 6

Class III Rafting / Back to Palmas

  • RaftingNovo River · 10 km · ~4 h · Class III
  • Driving229 km · ~4.5 h

On the last day of this Jalapão trekking tour, take a 4-hour Class III raft down the Novo River to Clóvis Beach. Around 12 PM, a hearty lunch on the riverbanks marks the end of the crossing.

From there, our local partner transfers you back to Palmas, with arrival scheduled for 6 PM. Because the return leg is long, avoid booking an outbound flight too close to that time.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch

A sandy dirt trail cuts through golden cerrado grassland at sunset, with buriti palms silhouetted against a warm orange sky during a Jalapão trekking journey
Point-of-view shot from a yellow kayak during Jalapão trekking, with a crew in an orange raft powering through churning Class IV whitewater rapids, green-forested riverbanks under a clear blue sky

What is Included

  • Round-trip transfer (Palmas ⇌ Jalapão)
  • 5-night stay in São Félix do Tocantins and Mateiros (inns, homestay, and camping)
  • Meals (full board), plus mineral water during all activities
  • All entrance fees and interaction with the local quilombola communities
  • Guided tours (trekking, fervedouros, waterfalls, rafting, and river beaches)
  • Expert local guides

Not included

  • Flight tickets
  • Accommodation in Palmas (before or after the tour)
  • Breakfast on the first day and dinner on the last day
  • Travel insurance
  • English-speaking guides, on request and subject to availability, at additional cost
  • Optional tours, laundry, phone calls, tips, and other personal expenses
  • Any services not previously mentioned

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$ 1,150/ per person