Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
easy-going hostel with, behind it, a hippie-style encampment
of chalets built on permaculture principles, where they allow
camping too. Good salad-bar lunches are usually available,
and they also have a ju
ngle lo
dge for t
hose w
ho want to stay
out in the forest. Dorms
R$35
; chalets
R$100
Europa
GO-118 (Av Paraíso), opposite the junction
with Av Ary Valadão Filho
T
62 3446 1558,
W
hoteleuropadegoias.com.br.
Alto Paraíso's longest-
established hotel, lacking the new-age extras, but offering
jolly rooms with a/c, TV and wi-fi, some in the main
building and others in th
e quiet
area at the back. Breakfast
is R$10 per person extra.
R$120
Pousada Alfa Omega
Rua Joaquim de Almeida 15
T
62 3446 1225,
W
veadeiros.com.br.
Quite an upmarket
pousada
whose rooms are bungalows set in a lovely
garden, each with a little ver
anda. F
acilities include a pool,
sauna and meditation space.
R$180
Pousada dos Guias
Rua Zorozimo Barbosa 278
T
62 3446 1231,
W
pousadadosguias.com.br.
Small,
friendly and low-priced
pousa
da
loca
ted just a couple of
blocks off Av Ary Valadão Filho.
R$100
Pousada Maya
Rua das Curicadas Q.11, Lotes 4-5
T
62 3446 2062,
W
pousadamaya.com.br.
A supremely
relaxing place in a woodland setting on the edge of town
(follow the signs from the junction of Av Ary Valadão Filho
with Rua dos Buritis). Facilities include a pool, yoga,
massage and meditation space, and
natural
ly the
pousada
conforms to feng shui specifications.
R$270
Tapindaré
Av Ary Valadão Filho 610
T
62 3446 1778,
W
tapindare.com.br.
A good, modern hotel where the
bright, comfortable rooms have just a very slight (and
actually rather charming) touch of chintz about them, and
there's a small pool
, plus a
children's pool, spa facilities and
a good restaurant.
R$200
6
EATING
Massas da Mamma
Rua São Jose Operario 305
T
62 3446 1362.
Good pasta (spaghetti
alla carbonara
or
alla puttanesca
R$23.90) and other Italian dishes
(medallions of beef with mushroom risotto R$39.90)
served in a homely little place with pretty tablecloths, near
the rodoviária.
Daily noon-11pm.
Taj Mahal
Av Ary Valadão Filho 638
T
62 8182 0594.
Not a curry house, but a small restaurant purveying reliably
good Brazilian and Italian(-ish) food, most notably a very
tasty steak parmigiana (R$39).
Tues-Fri 5-11pm, Sat &
Sun noon-11pm.
★
Vegan Yin
Praça do Artesano (a square on Av Ary
Valadão Filho).
A small shack serving up wonderful
organic vegan food. The hours are a bit random, but they
always have a lunch combo for R$13, and the
açaí
(R$5) -
sweetened with banana instead of sugar - is excellent. The
people in the restaurant belong to a syncretic religious
group who hold responsible and well-run weekly
ayahuasca
ceremonies.
Mon 7am-3pm, Tues noon-
9pm, Wed-Fri 10am-9pm, Sat 1-5pm, Sun 1-9pm.
São Jorge
To really get to grips with Chapada dos Veadeiros you need to head 37km up a good-
quality dirt road to the small village of
SÃO JORGE
, next to the national park's only
entrance. Before the creation of the national park in 1980, the main industry in São Jorge
was the mining of rock crystals. When the practice was made illegal in and around the
park, the parks authority, prodded and helped by the
World Wildlife Fund
, recognized the
need to create jobs linked to the park and invested heavily in training local ex-miners to
be guides - the perfect choice, since no one picked over every remote nook and cranny of
the landscape quite like them. That is why IBAMA, the federal parks authority, previously
required (and still recommends) park visitors to be accompanied by a guide.
You can either hike into the national park from São Jorge or explore the spectacular
countryside around the village, which is dotted with waterfalls, strange geological
formations and natural swimholes; best are the otherworldly rock formations of the
Vale da Lua
, and the swimholes and waterfalls of
Raizama
and
Morada do Sol
, both a
short drive or a two-hour hike away.
As for
finding a guide
, in the unlikely event locals don't come touting for business
where you're staying, let the owner know you're interested and someone should be there
within a few minutes. Guides charge a daily rate of around R$100, not including the
entrance fee for the park, if you choose to hike there. If you want to go on a long hike
outside the park, it's still a good idea to hire a guide to make sure you don't get lost.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
SÃO JORGE
By bus
There is only one daily bus to Alto Paraíso (30min;
currently leaves São Jorge 7am, returning at 5.30pm).
By taxi
A taxi from Alto Paraíso normally costs around
R$75, but Táxis do Rick (
T
62 9642 1910) promise a
