Sites near Brasília: Chapada #1

I always wanted to visit the Chapada [I’m talking about the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, located in the Chapada dos Veadeiros, an ancient plateau with an estimated age of 1.8 billion years and a couple of hours away from my hometown, Brasilia, Brazil’s capital. The country has other two “Chapadas”: one is located in the Mato Grosso state and the other in the Bahia state], but never got the chance.

My growing interest in the Chapada was stirred up by stories and pictures shared by friends showing off Chapada’s breath-taking landscapes, vegetation, waterfalls and rock formations.

Sometimes, it seemed a bit unfair that I could not experience it myself. I just needed to satisfy my curiosity about what it was like to take part of such a wonderful world!

It got worse back in 2011/2012 when the Chapada come under the public spotlight because of massive television coverage of one place to be when the world was expected to end according to the alleged 2012 apocalyptic Mayan prediction. 

I guess you never heard of this, but by the time it was thought that only one place would not be hit by the global apocalypse - and it was located precisely at the Chapada: if you wanted to survive to see the light of another day, you should flee to Alto Paraíso de Goiás, or High Paradise, a village situated over a huge quartz crystal plate at the entrance of the Chapada.

I bet the “WTF?!” thought just crossed your mind - but don’t worry, it gets funnier: Alto Paraíso attracted many Brazilians and foreigners seeking refuge from the apocalypse.

On that occasion, the hashtag #chateada (which we use in Brazil to mean we’re disappointed with something) did not exist yet, but it was how I felt like. I mean, I was like gonna die missing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit the Chapada.

However, Gott sei Danke, as we can see, the world has not been an end in itself [yet], and in 2012 I finally had the ENORMOUS pleasure to get to know this paradise for the first time during the XII Encontro de Culturas Tradicionais da Chapada dos Veadeiros, a festival held every July where traditional people, such as indigenous and quilombolas communities, come together  to share their cultural traditions with visitors. People come from all over the country to participate in this festival.

Well, I will talk about my early experience in the Chapada in future posts. For now, I simply say that it was overpowering. I only would like to profess my deep love for one of the most special places I’ve ever visited in my life - and hoping that I’ll never regret it: Chapada dos Veadeiros.

Other facts:

:o

Exactly.

Hope your jaw has just dropped. 

If not, i.e. you have no idea of what that means, you definitely must follow this blog to find it out.

Photos taken by Priscila Costa in our last trip to the Chapada in July 2013.