Adventure trekking in Chapada Diamantina

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An early morning trekking start Leaving early in the morning from Lençois, the portal of Chapada Diamantina National Park towards the Valé do Capão at the other side of the park. This trekking is going to take 3 full days.
Our local guide Trajano leading the trek today Trajano lives in Chapada Diamantina for over 30 years and knows all the trails by heart. On this trek we will be accompanied by Elfi R.
View at the Ribeirão Meio Getting onto our first climb (there is going to be plenty of those, for experienced trekkers only) I start looking back every now and then.
Typical vegetation As we progress on the "Veneno" slide we already percieve some of the typical vegetation from this National Park
Wild orchid A beautiful surprise on the walk as we discover our first wild orchid.
Another orchid, the golden rain This wild orchid flowers in dozens of tiny little yellow flowers commonly called 'chuva de ouro'
More amazing plants This one can be found in red as well
Watch guard This bird of prey was watching out while his partner was having a drink down below.
One keeps looking at plants The enormous variety of plants keeps asking for our constant attention
Vegetation getting denser as we advance Our path is getting a bit more overgrown at times.
View on the 'pantanal baiano' A beautiful view on this rather unknown and unspoken of region of Bahia

Time for some pictures Worth to look upfront to take some pictures before we go into some tiny small little valley

The climb down begins After some incessant climbing up now we have an interesting variant, not always easy to go and Trajano keeps a carefull look on where Elfi is putting her feet.
Mosquito forest A stop of a few seconds and they start biting where possible, one message : keep moving if you don' want to be bitten, BUT enjoy the view
Water to drink Thirst is something one cannot have in this climate, luckily there is always water available at short distance
Looking back Allways have your head turned around every now and then, it's worth the effort !
A lesson in local gardening Our guide takes the time to explain some of the local plants and their habits.
The higher the better Keep climbing and you feel better by each step you take.
Lunch with a view Could you imagine a more impressive place to have lunch ?
On the way we encountered another group of trekkers and had some interesting exchanges about our first impressions of the trekking.
Wild ideas of the views to come After lunch we went deeper and deeper in the park and with every step the views got more and more impressive.
Wild life encounter A beautiful little bird was waiting for us to pass by
Taking a breather And observe some of the sky trying to understand what is to follow weatherwise.
A 50 meter high shower Trajano is not waiting for us to test his giant shower
More gentle falls A sense of tranquility feathers around this area
Go Elfi, we still have some distance to walk It gives an idea how much water can run through this place if one observes the erosion that has been taking place here for many years.
Golden hour approaching The sun was getting lower and the light was getting it's typical goldish color while the mountain shapes were getting longer and longer.
Small falls, relaxing sounds Nothing nicer than this relaxing noise of some small waterfalls, time for a zen-moment
Preparing for the night I made a small campfire while Trajano was cooking diner and Elfi trying to find out what the most 'comfortable' way to sleep would be ...
After a rainy night Some of our collegue trekkers went sleeping on different places, but somewhere in the middle of the night it started raining and suddenly the place became pretty crowded, strange waking up under these circumstances, all under the same peace of rock.
First views at dawn As usual it is a overcast in the morning, but the views keep being attractive.
Waiting for breakfast ... The guides did not come up with croissants but the breakfast was more than one could wish for under the circumstances, and the extra advantage ? Again less weight in our backpacks ;-))))
Ready to go, mind your grip Not always easy to go so you better mind every step you take
Rocky forest A beautiful forest to walk in, not easy but so very beautifull
The river completely dried up As we get higher and higher water got rare here
Tropical forest walk A different landscape to walk through, be advised to take repellent with you, a million mosquitos are ready to bother you each time you halt
Wild mushroom A beautiful mushroom, needless to say : do not touch it.
The "people's fridge" A geladeira do povo, that is what they locally call this tine little fresh waterspring.
Time to reflect for a while A nice spot under the trees to hold up for a moment
The last obstacle to the "smoke" Yes, we have to turn around left this rock to get to the famous "Smoking" waterall
it looks a peace of cake but reality will be different.
Climbing gets steeper While advancing to the Fumaça Waterfall the terrain is getting more and more difficult
Cachoeira da Fumaça, looking 380m up Përsonnally I have been waiting for many years before seeing this from below, but damn, it was worth all the effort AND the waiting
Fumaça = smoke ... understood ? Now it is clear why this waterfall is called the "Smoking waterfall"
All down, a swim, a shower Trajano is in a big hurry for cooling off after this intensive climb to the base of the Cachoeira de Fumaça waterfall, and quickly swims to his private shower.
Diner on the rocks Two guides preparing diner, not the most efficient way but you will be surprised how effecient these guys can be in making a meal with the most humble means.
A new dawn, new views Needless to say the landscape keeps surprising
Another wild orchid While walking we discover another wild orchid.
Stopover on the rocks Good for some fresh water tanking along the rocks.
Sempre vida, sempre Sempre vida are to be found in all forms and sizes, but these are definitly the most cosy ones I've seen so far.
Time for a rest with observation Well resting is a lot said, because there is always things to see and to take pictures of
The bubles Yeah, this was indeed a good time for some pictures.
Last lunch This was the last time we would be eating in open air on this trip, but it was very nice to be there indeed.
Looking down 380m Elfi was not keen on the idea of looking down for 380m to take pictures of the spot we were 24jours earlier but she confessed it was worth the shot (and the adrenaline).
Cachoeira da Fumaça Today we had more water volume and the show was worth coming for
Now one can clearly understand why this is called the 'smoking waterfall'
The moco A moco, local wildlife in Chapada Diamantina, these are so accustomed to peaple you can almost touch them, in some cases even feed them.
Sneaky snake On our way we encountered this small little snake (about 30cm long)
A reminder one should always be aware where putting feet walking in a park.
The black hopper A hopping surprise for the attentive observer.
The end is in sight Approaching the end of the plateau we have an interesting view on the Valé do Capão.
The end of a 3 day trekking, in beauty A beautiful finish going down into the Valé do Capão with views on the North part of the National Park.

Pictures of our trekking adventures
in CHAPADA DIAMANTINA

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Adventure trekking in Chapada Diamantina