Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ACCOMMODATION
Ubajara is a pleasant place to stay, a small, friendly town nestling in picturesque hills, with a couple of simple but perfectly
adequate hotels near the church and quiet square, together with one or two bars and restaurants. The best options,
however, lie just outside town.
Neblina Park
Estrada do Teleférico
T
88 3634 1270,
W
neblinaparkhotel.com.br.
Standing in splendid
isolation at the foot of a hill covered with palm forest, this
comfy option has a restaurant and swimming pool,
and is
remarka
ble valu
e; you can also camp here. Camping
R$30
;
doubles
R$110
Sítio do Alemâo
T
88 9961 4645,
W
sitio-do
-alemao.20fr.com.
Spotless German-run (and English-
speaking) hotel 1.5km from the park entrance, with five
cosy chalets set in lush, tropical gardens and banana palms.
Taxis should ch
arge R
$15 from Ubajara. Breakfast and free
wi-fi included.
R$70
Piauí
Oddly shaped
Piauí
, with a narrow neck of coastline 66km long that broadens out
inland, is the most typically “Northeastern” state in the region. Despite its size it
has just over three million inhabitants, by far the lowest population density in the
Northeast, and remains one of the poorest states in Brazil. There are really only three
places worth making for: the pleasant coastal town of
Parnaíba
, which has excellent
beaches, the
Parque Nacional de Sete Cidades
, good walking country with weird and
striking rock formations, and the
Parque Nacional
da Serra da
Capivara
, the oldest
inhabited prehistoric site found in Brazil with over four hundred archeological sites
and the largest concentration of rock paintings in the world. Few travellers spend
much time in the capital,
Teresina
, strategically placed for breaking the long bus
journey between Fortaleza and São Luís, but a modern, rather ugly city where the
heat can be oppressive.
4
Teresina
Brazil's hottest state capital,
TERESINA
sits far inland on the east bank of the Rio
Parnaíba, where it bakes year-round in an average temperature of 40°C (which means
it regularly gets hotter than that). Founded in 1852, its main claim to fame is being
Brazil's first planned city. The rains, meant to arrive in February and last for three or
four months, are not to be relied upon - though twice in the last fifteen years they have
actually flooded the city. Thankfully, given the heat, most of the things worth seeing
and doing are reasonably close to each other.
Central de Artesanato Mestre Dezinho
Praça Pedro II (Rua Paissandu 1276) • Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am-3pm • Free •
T
86 3222 5772
The former headquarters of the military police is now the
Central de Artesanato Mestre
Dezinho
, an arts and crafts market showcasing locally made products, especially those
made from leather and
buriti
palm.
Museu do Piauí
Praça Marechal Deodoro da Fonseca • Tues-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat & Sun 8am-noon • R$2 •
T
86 3221 6027
Overlooking the central plaza, the
Museu do Piauí
is housed in the old palace of the
state governors, built in 1859. The
palacio
has been beautifully restored, with the
exhibits well displayed in simple, elegant rooms, many with high arched windows and
balconies perched just above the crowded market stalls. The collection is the usual
eclectic mix, and pride of place goes to a collection of early radios, televisions and
stereograms, a must for lovers of 1950s and 60s kitsch. There are also fossils as well as
fine examples of the two things that distinguish
artesanato
in Piauí: sculpture in
buriti
palm and beautifully tooled leather.
