I am getting a shiatsu massage while listening to the soothing sounds of a waterfall and the songs of tropical birds. Except this time, the sound effects are not on a CD. I am lying, blissfully, in a tree house at Hotel Canto das Águas (Song of the Water) in Lençóis, Brazil, and the only thing that separates me from the parrots, monkeys, and ripe mangoes is a billowing curtain of white parachute silk.
With my trapizeus muscles the consistency of Jello, I am ready to tour Chapada Diamentina (Diamond Highlands), a 15,000-sq.-mi. national park named for the diamond and gold mines that created Brazil’s wealth in the 18th century.
In the sleepy town square, just a short walk from my hotel, a dozen tour operators compete for my attention, offering hiking, biking, horseback riding, kayaking, and something called “cave jumping.” Each store-front office is staffed by an earnest, young, English-speaking tour operator sitting behind a laptop. I walk past the lean, muscular staff at Extreme Trekking and choose Nas Alturas Travel Agency, where Vanessa Almeida assures me that I don’t have to be a “Survivor” contestant to enjoy all that Chapada Diamentina has to offer.
Being the kind of person who can get injured in a beginner yoga class, I choose a half-day van tour with minimal hiking. Our group includes a veterinarian from France and his wife, a couple from Brasilia, and a woman from Holland. Our guide nimbly switches from Portuguese to Spanish, English, and French.
Just a mile and a half from town, we stop at the Ribeirao do Meio rock-slide and the Sossego Waterfall, then it’s on to the small fishing village of Remanso for a boat ride through the maze of the Marimbus wetlands.
The topography of Chapada Diamantina is mesmerizing in its variety, combining arid rock formations reminiscent of the Grand Canyon with lush, tropical rainforests. One-and-a-half billion years ago, the ocean covered the region and the present topography is the result geologists call “landscape inversion.” Areas that had been underwater are now arid. Lands that had been dry now lie under rivers, waterfalls, and wetlands. Ancient rocks have been sculpted into curious shapes.
The region is extremely rich in its biodiversity and many conservation areas have been created to protect the water resources and the natural beauty of the area. There are literally hundreds of waterfalls in the Chapada, including the Fumaça Waterfall, one of the highest in all of Brazil. Over 50 types of orchids are in bloom in the Chapada from April to August and, if you’re a bird lover, you’ll be delighted by the 150 species of brightly colored herons, hummingbirds, and other residents of the Atlantic Rain Forest.
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