Vila Velha, Guartela Park and Tibagi

The Vila Velha State Park has been completely restructured recently and its main attractions are the sandstone sculptures, the Dourada Lake and the Furnas caves with their very high walls and internal lakes.

The Park is open from Wednesday to Monday and tours are led by local guides. The complete tour takes three hours, offering the possibility of visiting the rock formation on foot. Vila Velha has an incredibly contrasting landscape. One side is full of wide open grassland and the other is covered with Araucaria forest with close and humid vegetation.

The Guartelá Canyon is located in Tibagi, a beautiful small town in Campos Gerais, formerly a resting point for cowboys and an important centre for diamond mining. There is an interesting historical museum where different materials and tools used for the diamond mining are exhibited. The city also offers other attractions such as trekking and extreme sports. The Guartelá State Park is the sixth biggest canyon in the world, with a total length of 32 km (20 miles).

The Park offers trekking at various levels and the possibility of river baths in the "panelões", as the trekkers call the natural water holes formed along the river. Our tour includes an exclusive guided tour available for only 20 persons per day. In this tour you will see parts of the park closed for other visitors and ancient stone paintings, one of them showing a fisherman. A complete tour, taking in all attractions, takes around five hours. We will spend the night in Tibagi, where you can experience optional tours: a rafting or a rappel tour.

The rafting tour starts in the centre of Tibagi, on the River Iapó. There are different levels of difficulty. For beginners, a 40-minute tour at difficulty levels I and II is recommended. It can be extended to an hour or an hour and a half. The more experienced participants may try difficulty levels II and III which, depending on the water level, can be extended to a 3-hour excursion, covering a distance of 12 km (7.5 miles).

Twenty kilometres behind Tibagi is the waterfall Salto Puxa-Nervos, located on a private property. Here the participants have the opportunity to rappel down the waterfall! Access, however, is not easy and requires good physical condition. This tour will be offered with a local guide for maximum security. It is recommended for adrenaline lovers only!

What to bring: comfortable hiking shoes, bathing suit and towel, insect repellent and sun protection, small backpack for the hiking tour, water bottle.