NORTHEAST BRAZIL - Brazil - page 243

are accessible to the public.
Sculpted by rain, wind,
heat, and erosion, the rocks
resemble animals, people,
mythological beings, and even
man-made structures. Among
the shapes are Mapa do Brasil ,
a backward facing map of
Brazil and Biblioteca (Library)
in Quarta Cidade (Fourth
City). Segundo Cidade, the
second of the seven “cities”
has a 147-ft (45-m) tall look-
out with views out over five
of the cities of stone. There
are also more than 2,000

prehistoric rock paintings,
some 6,000 years old. The
most impressive painting,
Pedra de Inscrição (Inscribed
Rock), said to be marked with
cryptic Indian runes, can be
seen at Quinta Cidade (Fifth
City). Other formations
include Pedra do Elefante
(Elephant Rock) at Sexta
Cidade (Sixth City), and look-
out points such as the Arco de
Triunfo (Triumphal Arch), a 59-
ft (18-m) tall arch-shaped rock,
which lies between Quarta
Cidade and Quinta Cidade.

Trails leading up to rock formations
at Parque Nacional de Sete Cidades

Parque Nacional
de Sete Cidades 2
Maranhão.

CRISPIM, THE BOWL HEAD
A popular Piauí legend tells the story
of Crispim, a fisherman who lived by
the banks of the Rio Parnaíba. He
came home one day frustrated after
not having caught any fish. Outraged
with the meager lunch of beef bone
soup, Crispim took up a large bone
and beat his mother. As she lay dying,
she cursed him, condemning him to
live in the river as a bowl-headed
monster. The curse would be lifted
when he devoured seven virgins named Maria. Locals still
tell of spotting Crispim in the river, looking for virgins to eat.

@ from Teresina.

n Ibama Office, Centro de

Visitantes, [phone].
#

Parque
Hotel Sete Cidades, [phone].

8am-5pm daily. & ®

The name Sete Cidades
(Seven Cities) refers to seven
distinct and unusual rock
formations, spread out in the
park along 7 miles (12 km)
of trails. Only the first six

Rio Parnaíba, reputedly
haunted by Crispim

Caldeirão dos
Rodrigues , a walk
through Baixão da
Pedra Furada, leads
to archaeological
sites with rock
paintings.

VISITORS' CHECKLIST
Coronel José Dias, Piauí.

0 kilometers 10

from Teresina to São Raimundo
Nonato, then taxi.

@

0 miles 6

Museu de
Homem Americano, Bairro
Campestre, São Raimundo
Nonato, [phone].

n

#
7am-5pm daily. Best time to visit
is from March to June.

Desfiladeiro da
Capivara is a
2- mile (4-km)
long trail, leading
to many rock-
painting sites.

& valid

for three days. tour groups

up to a maximum of 10 people.

8

® Hotel Serra da Capivara,

Santa Luiza, [phone].

Baixão do Sítio
Meio is the site
where a pottery
shard nearly 9,000
years old was
found. It is the
oldest in the
Americas.

Baixão da Pedra Furada
The trail leading to the large unusual-shaped
rock, known as Pedra Furada (Pierced Rock),
leads to 10 different archaeological sites.