Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Palmas 5
Tocantins. * 137,500. ~ @ (063)
3228 5600. n Embratur, Secretaría
da Industria, Comercio e Turismo,
Praça Girossóis, (063) 3218 5261.
_ Carnaval (Feb/Mar).
Built in 1989, Brazil's newest
state capital sits at the base
of a range of forested low
hills. It is a pleasant, but
sprawling, modern city.
Most visitors come to Palmas
as it is a good jumping-off
point for the numerous
attractions that lie within the
interior of Tocantins state,
most notably Jalapão and the
Ilha do Bananal.
Aside from the vast Palmas
lake formed by the dam on
the Rio Tocantins, Palmas'
most interesting area is its
vast, grassy main square,
Praça Giróssois, which is
lined by grandiose public
buildings and various
monuments to its founder,
José Wilson Siqueira Campos,
and his legacy.
A cobbled street lined with townhouses in Cidade de Goías
Cidade de Goiás 3
Goiás. * 28,500. ~ @
n Secretaría de Turismo, (062) 3371
1996. _ Semana Santa (Apr),
Festival International de Cinema
Ambiental (Jun).
www .cidadeshistoricas.art.br/goias
are a number of museums
and monuments here. These
include the Museu das
Bandeiras , the former seat of
government, which preserves
a forbidding dungeon and
a set of rooms with period
furniture, a magnificent
Baroque public fountain,
Chafariz de Cauda, and the
Quartel do Vinte, an 18th-
century barracks, which now
houses the tourist office.
Immediately north of Praça
Brasil Caiado and capped
with an attractive, though
modest, Baroque church is
another square, Praça do
Correto . The most interesting
of all the city's museums,
Museu de Arte Sacra in the
Igreja de Boa Morte, is
located here, preserving a
series of hauntingly lifelike
religious effigies by José
Joaquim da Veiga Valle (1806-
74), a self-taught sculptor.
Opposite this museum is the
Palácio Conde dos Arcos ,
complete with 18th-century
furniture and still used by the
governor on city visits.
E Museu de Arte Sacra
Praça do Correto. Tel (062) 3371
1207. # 8am-5pm Tue-Fri,
9am-1pm Sun. &
E Museu das Bandeiras
Praça Brasil Caiado. Tel (062) 3371
1087. # 8-11am & 1-5pm
Tue-Fri, noon-5pm Sat. &
E Palácio Conde dos Arcos
Praça Dr. Tasso de Camargo.
Tel (062) 3371 1200. # 8am-5pm
Tue-Sat, 8am-noon Sun . &
Like most colonial towns in
Brazil's interior, Cidade de
Goiás grew rich on gold. Until
the middle of the 20th
century, it was the capital of
what was once the largest
Brazilian state apart from
Amazonas. Also known as
Goiás Velho, or just Goiás,
Cidade de Goiás is a magical
little city nestled at the foot of
the rugged Serra Dourado
hills. Winding cobbled streets
lined with 18th-century town
houses lead to hills capped
with churches, leafy squares
and little markets. Life here
seems to trot along as it has
done for centuries.
While historic, Goiás is far
from being lost in a bygone
age. The city's busy social
calendar is a testament to its
successful fusion of the old
with the new. There is some-
thing happening almost every
weekend through the year
in Goiás, from thoroughly
traditional hooded parades
in Semana Santa (Holy Week)
to some of the best world-
cinema festivals and classical
music concerts in Brazil.
Many buildings and
museums testify to the city's
illustrious past, and Goiás is
small enough to see them all
leisurely on foot. The best
place to begin a tour is at
Praça Brasil Caiado , the large
square which graces the
town's southern end. There
The sparkling Rio Tocantins in
Palmas at sunset
Jalapão 6
Tocantins . 8 Korubo, (063) 8121
3538, www .jalapao.com ; or
Bananal Ecotour (063) 3028 4200.
www .bananalecotour.com.br
A journey through Brazil's
interior would be incomplete
without a visit to Jalapão.
Located deep within eastern
Tocantins, this breathtaking
area is one of South America's
great wilderness destinations.
Jalapão, stretching across
13,130 sq miles (34,000 sq
km), is made up of a state
park, three private protected
Chapada dos
Veadeiros 4
See pp312-13.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp384-5 and p409
 
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