CENTRAL WEST BRAZIL - Brazil - page 305

areas, and an ecological
station, Estação Ecológica.
The best time to visit is the
dry season between June
and September.
Beyond the inaccessible
reaches of southern Piauí,
the arid cerrado forests and
incipient caatinga thornlands
are more pristine here than
anywhere else. Many fast-
flowing rivers cut through
spectacular canyons and
thunder over myriad water-
falls throughout Jalapão. A
number of rivers are born
in limpid glassy springs that
bubble forth from the sands
of Jalapão. Others wind their
way through groves of buriti
palms called veredas . These
are visited by Spix's macaws
and Brazilian Merganser
ducks, two of the extremely
rare birds lost to the rest
of the continent but still
found in Jalapão.
Towering over Jalapão's
seemingly interminable
plains and striding out to
the endless horizons are
stands of monolithic tabletop
mountains, winding yellow
sand dunes, and craggy rock
pinnacles. The air is so clear
that even when these are far
in the distance, they appear
close enough to touch. Trails
running across the mountain
summits range from moderate
to difficult, depending on the
experience of the hiker.
The views from the top
of the mountains and dunes
are mesmerizing. But for the
whistling breeze, it is so silent
that the infrequent pick-ups
running across the very few
dirt roads can be heard
clearly even when they are
quite a long distance away.

impenetrable without a guide.
Indigenous communities,
including the Javaés and the
Karajás, inhabit the island,
some of whom produce
carved wooden animals
and pottery figurines. The
southern part of the island
also comprises seasonally
flooded forests, lakes, and
swamps filled with wildlife.
This is a wonderful area for
bird-watching, particularly
waterbirds. There are also
black caimans, which grow
to an immense size in the
dark, fish-filled waters.

Dark waters of the Rio Javaés, one
of Ilha do Bananal's rivers

Parque Nacional
das Emas 8
Goiás. n Rua do Bom Fim, Centro
Historico, [phone]. 8
Drena, Rua Aurora 21, Centro
Histórico Pirenópolis, (062) 3331
3336. ® Fazenda Santa Amélia,
[phone].

Ilha do Bananal 7
Tocantins. * 3,500. 8 Bananal
Ecotour Quadra 103-S, Loja 28,
Palmas, [phone].
www .bananalecotour.com.br

The Rio Araguaia runs from
southern Goiás across
Tocantins state to join the
Rio Tocantins before draining
into the Amazon. In the
middle of this river sits the
Ilha do Bananal, an island so
vast that it has its own rivers
running through it and
contends with Ilha de Marajó
(see p270) for the title of the
world's largest river island.
Access to the island's wild
interior is not easy. Visits here
are only possible with a
licensed tour operator.
Three ecosystems converge
on the island - rainforest,
wetland, and cerrado.
Bananal's southern extremes
are mostly Terras Indígenas
(indigenous territories), where
tourists are not welcome.
Its center and north are

Tucked far away in the
southwest corner of Goiás
and surrounded by a sea of
soya, Emas National Park is
a 500-sq mile (1,300-sq km)
island of grassland and sparse
cerrado, dotted with millions
of termite hills and cut by
blackwater rivers. The park is
considered the best preserved
cerrado in the country. In
2001, it was designated a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Populations of larger
mammals, particularly the
armadillo, maned wolf, and
puma, are so healthy here
that the park is a favorite
location for film crews from
the BBC Natural History
Unit. It is also an important
destination for bird-watchers,
with the greatest concentration
of blue-and-yellow macaws
outside Amazônia.
Although there is no
compulsion to go on a
guided tour, it is a good idea
to organize a trip through a
tour operator in Pirenópolis,
or through the tourist office
in the nearby town of
Chapadão do Céu, east
of the park. Facilities
at the park are minimal.
Accommodation is limited
to very rustic, simply-
appointed Fazenda Santa
Amélia in Chapadão do Céu. A breathtaking view of Tocantins landscape from a dune, Jalapão