Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE PLANALTO
The topography and ecology of the
planalto
are unique, known in Brazil as the
cerrado
, only
partly translated by the word “savannah”. Much of it looks startlingly African: red earth, scrubby
vegetation, dusty in the dry season, missing only the giraffes and zebras. What makes it
spectacular is the topography, which begins to break up the high plains into a series of hill
ranges, cliffs, mesas, plateaus and moorland almost as soon as you start heading north from
Brasília. This irregular landscape is situated between two enormous watersheds, the Paraná
to the south and the Amazon to the north, both of which have the headwaters of major
tributaries in the
planalto
. The hills and mountains are riddled with thousands of
rivers and
streams
, forming spectacular waterfalls and swimholes.
As ecotourism grows, so too do the
threats
.
Development here is far more intense than in
the Amazon. The ranchers who spearheaded the early wave of settlement of the
planalto
are
still there, but giving way to large-scale commercial agriculture, especially soybeans. This has
underlain the development of the two largest cities in Goiás,
Goiânia
, the state capital, and
Anápolis
, and as it becomes one of the world's breadbaskets much of the
planalto
now looks
like the US Midwest, with endless geometric fields and irrigation canals stretching to the
horizon. Over sixty percent of the native vegetation has been converted to farmland or
pasture, compared to fifteen percent of the Amazon, and the unique flora and fauna of the
cerrado
- the giant anteater and armadillo, the maned wolf, the glorious wildflowers that
speckle the area with colour in the rainy season - are all increasingly endangered. If things
continue at the present rate, within a generation the only islands of true
cerrado
left will be
the national parks.
6
Cristalina
From Brasília, an easy day-trip involves taking a two-hour bus ride to
CRISTALINA
on
the Goiás plateau. Indeed, the journey itself is one of the main reasons to go, as you'll
pass through the distinctive rolling hills of the
planalto
along the BR-040 towards Belo
Horizonte. Prospectors who came here looking for gold in the early eighteenth century
came across a large quantity of rock crystal; the European market opened up over a
century later, and today Cristalina is an attractive, rustic town, based around the
mining, cutting, polishing and marketing of semi-precious stones. Quartz crystal and
Brazilian amethyst can also be bought here at very reasonable prices, mostly from
enormous warehouses on the edge of town that pull in passing motorists.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
CRISTALINA
By bus
There are four daily buses from Brasília to Cristalina (2hr).
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Churrascaria Rodeio
Rua 7 de Setembro
1237
T
61
3612 1980.
An excellent
churrasco
restaurant, particularly
worthwhile on Sundays when the R$49.90
rodizio
includes
roasted game.
Daily 11am-4pm & 6-11pm.
Cristal Park Hotel
Rua Otaviano de Paiva 900
T
61 3612 5517,
W
cristalparkhotel.com.br.
A modern
hotel, albeit in a slightly odd-looking building, with
immaculate rooms, reasonable standards of comfort
(including queen-size beds), usual mod cons (a/c, wi-fi, TV,
fridge) and handy f
for Crist
alina's main concentration of
bars and restaurants.
R$150
Hotel Attie
Praça José Adamian 34
T
61 3612 6671.
A friendly, good-value little hotel, nothing fancy but
centrally located and perfectly adequate. The rooms,
though not large, have ev
erythin
g you need in the way of
a/c, wi-fi, TV and a fridge.
R$100
Goiânia
GOIÂNIA
was founded in 1933 (giving it a trove of
Art Deco architecture
), and became
the state capital four years later. With over a million inhabitants, and both cheaper
and more alive than Brasília, with good transport connections, Goiânia earns its living
as a market centre for the surrounding agricultural region, which specializes in beef
and soybeans.
