I’m just back from an action packed week of hiking in the National Park of Chapada Diamantina, or the Diamond Highlands as they are known in English. It was the best experience I’ve had on my travels to date.
The Diamond Highlands are located in the very centre of Bahia State, about four hundred kilometres from Salvador. They are famous for their raw beauty and for the huge reserves of diamonds and gold that they possessed (most mining has stopped now days). The park spreads for fifteen thousand squared miles, is larger than Holland or Belgium, and is more of a high plateau, averaging about thousand meters, than a true mountain range. It took a 2.5 hour flight from Sao Paulo to Salvador and then another one hour flight on a tiny jet plane to get to our pousada (or B&B), in the village of Lencois. The landscape in the area is one of rolling mountains (consisting of a variety of geologies but mainly limestone), deep valleys completely covered in trees, scrubs, flowers, open high plains and shady canyons. Intertwined with these sculptured rocks and grasslands are almost uncountable clean, cold, drinkable mountain streams, spectacular waterfalls, and deep natural swimming pools, two of which I had the pleasure of swimming in, in my birthday suit. To add to this you have a wide variety of animals that roam the landscape. Unfortunately, the number of species is smaller than it was before the miners came and started hunting but none the less it’s still impressive. The list ranges from black howler monkies, collared anteaters, yellow armadillos and vampire bats to caimans, rattlesnakes, boa constrictors and a wide variety of rodents, foxes and lizards. There are 250 species of birds and God knows how many different types of butterflies, snails, spiders and mosquitoes, some of which had the pleasure of feeding on mine and the dogs’ blood. And rumour has it that there is still the odd jaguar roaming the highlands and attacking some of the local farmer’s deers and cows. While on this trip I didn’t have the chance to see it I did however get to see some of the rare tiny, red, daisy, inconspicuous looking delicate flowers that are carnivorous.
To try describe in complete and utter detail the things I saw, did and experienced in Chapada would take too much time and would be absurd. Almost as absurd as two Nobel laureates meeting for the first time over lunch and having nothing to talk about. Or as absurd as being introduced to every grain of sand on a beach, by name, by the ocean, and then been asked to repeat their names in order. There is simply too much. As such, I’ll give you the truncated version.
The first day in Lencois was spent going to two caves that had blue lagoon water inside. It took a little bit of effort to descend into the caverns but it was worth it. Especially, the second one where we all had an opportunity to do a little snorkelling. Day 2 I set off with my good friend Carlos on a two night three day hike to the 360m free falling waterfall of Fumasa. The hike covered 24km of a wide variety of terrain and was very much like the experience I had a few years ago when trekking to Machu pichu. The group I set off with consisted of 5 people. Lucia, our excellent guide and cook. Myself and Carlos. And a Swiss couple, Bengy and Carolina. Great company. Most of the days consisted of walking and climbing with constant stops for short water breaks, food and photos. We woke at 7am and went to sleep at 8pm under a blanket of the brightest, clearest, most resplendent stars I have ever seen. On the hike we got an opportunity to see some wild fruit, a nest of bees that produce a rare wax like municipal substance called proion, wild orchids, five foot snakes the name of which I can’t remember and small nimble frightening looking spiders that design intricate web systems. Beautiful. Wild. Different. On the last day after tentatively peering over the edge of the cliff to see the waterfall’s cascading turret I descended bare foot down the mountain with my guide for 7km through, mud, water, forest, grass and rock. My knees were shaking when I got to the end and amazingly I managed not to cut or scrap myself. I’ve never felt the souls of my feet so alive in all my life. Highly recommended. Day 5 was spent taking another trek but this time it wasn’t on land. It was a 2.5 hour 4km trek into a cave system called, Torrinha, or little tower. Inside there was an exceptional collection of exotic limestone formations consisting of thousands and thousands of strange looking stalactites and stalagmites. Only 3 of us went inside. Myself, my friend Lincoln, and our guide. To see we had a gas lamp that shun about 8 feet, the rest was pitch black hole black. It was a strange experience. I’ve never gone for so long, so deep, under ground. It was a strange feeling. At one point the guide turned off the light and we stayed silent for a minute in a chamber 85 meters below the surface. It was a surreal sensation. Clostaphobic. Black. Silent. Cold. Alien. Also, during that day we got the chance to swim in a near by cave again. This time a dark cave pregnant with a multitude of fish. We had the use of underwater torches so we got the opportunity to startle a few fish and crabs with the lights as they tried to go about their everyday lives. The last day consisted of a trip to the famous Pai Inacio mountain to take in the crimson sun set beside the huge metal cross at the peak. The view from the top was majestic. And the vegetation on the rocky peak was a natural garden of orchids, bromeliads, cactus, and lots of other local beauties you’ve never seen or even heard of.
Overall a welcome break from the urban jungle and a brief but unforgettable glimpse into some of the beauty of the interior of Brazil.
PS:I've put some photos up in my Brazilian folder if you want to check them out.
