With thousands of kilometres of tropical beaches, happening cities and hedonistic festivals to be discovered along Brazil’s coastline, it might seem incredibly hard to drag yourself away and head inland. If you were at all tempted to haul yourself off your sun-lounger and hang up your dancing shoes to make just one trip into Brazil’s interior, this would surely be it! The National Park of Chapada Diamantina (Diamond Highlands) is located 300 kilometres west of Salvador and for a short time it was the diamond mining capital of the world. These days, its true value lies in eco-tourism and those who make the effort to travel here will rewarded beyond their wildest dreams. This is the Outback of Brazil: where space and big skies seem to go on forever; where larger than life landscapes filled with mountain plateaus, waterfalls, wooded valleys and underground caves stir your imagination; where a slower pace of life and laid-back attitude ensures you appreciate the smaller things; and where the range of exciting activities will leave you bewildered.
Angel Falls – Cascade from the Sky
10 Dec
Flying through uncharted Venezuelan territory in 1934 while looking for gold, American bush pilot Jimmie Angel nearly crashed his 4-seater plane upon noticing a waterfall nearly one kilometre high freely flowing from the top of towering Auyantepui, one of the area’s biggest table mountains. Little did Jimmy know he had discovered what would become known as ‘Angel Falls’, by far and away the highest single drop waterfall in the world, which cascades a massive 979 metres, more than double the height of the Empire State Building and 16 times the height of Niagara Falls.
Postcard from Henri Pittier National Park
14 Sep
Henri Pittier National Park has always been appreciated for its natural beauty and diverse ecosystems and in 1937 it became the first national park in Venezuela. It was created to protect the cloud forest and marine coastal environments from land clearance for agricultural purposes, and was quickly recognised for its great variety of plants and wildlife. The park covers 1078 square kilometres of rolling coastal mountain ranges, beautiful bays of golden sand and turquoise waters. It’s justifiably earned a top spot on any backpacker’s Venezuelan adventure. The park ticks all the right boxes with stunning coastlines, well preserved colonial villages with funky budget accommodation and tasty food options, trekking trails through lush mountains and the chance to spot rare animals and birds in the wild.
Inner tubes, bamboo and string – river travel the Bolivian way!
4 Oct
Five days – drifting 250 kilometres down river – from Guanay to Rurrenabaque – on a home-made raft – with no engine…I must have got that all wrong. Was there a way such a trip could really be possible? The voice on the other end of the phone took a deep breath and repeated what they’d already explained. The ‘No noise’ jungle rafting experience through Bolivia’s chunk of Amazonas was created for people looking for unparalleled adventure. Six people, a guide and a cook, along with rucksacks, food supplies and camping equipment, would pile on top of a raft no bigger than 5 metres long and 2.5 metres wide and float to their destination using only the natural flow and currents of the river. There would be jungle walks to spot exotic animals and indigenous tribes were never far from the river banks. Home each evening would be under canvas in a rustic camp and to wash ourselves there would always be a crystal clear river or a gushing waterfall nearby. Rendered speechless as my head span with all of this information – all I could muster were the immortal words – “Sign us up!”
Dientes de Navarino
19 Apr
We crossed the Beagle Channel on a zodiac boat from Ushuaia, at the very Southern tip of Argentina, to Puerto Navarino, in Chile. After clearing immigration in a waterside hut, which also sold coffee and cake (if only all government interactions could be so smooth), we travelled on by bus down a gravel track to Puerto Williams, a small settlement, naval base and point of entry for sailing ships bound for the fearsome Cape Horn and onto Antarctica.
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Torres del Paine – the ‘W’ trek
Visitors from all walks of life converge on the small hamlet of Puerto Natales to visit Chile’s and perhaps the Continent’s number one national park – Torres del Paine. Located in the Southern Patagonian ice fields at the end of the Andes, the park offers diverse wildlife and incredible mountain scenery, glaciers, lakes, rivers and […]
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