Route of Emotions – The Route of the American Man

Day by Day

• DAY 1 – São Luís
  Destination: São Luís
  Disembark in São Luís and transfer to the lodging.
• DAY 2 – São Luís / Santo Amaro
  Destination: Santo Amaro
  After breakfast, we’ll board the minibus/van. After approximately 3 hours we’ll arrive at the support point, from where we’ll take a 4×4 through sand trails to the bucolic Santo Amaro, set of the movie Casa de Areia.
  We will be welcomed by the transparent Rio Alegre, which embraces the city along with the coconut trees and the dunes. After check-in and lunch (not included), we will visit the Lagoa da Gaivota circuit in a private 4×4 (dinghy), passing through the region of lakes and fields.
  We will walk up the dune that will give us a splendorous view of the Lençois, having the magnificent Lagoa das Gaivotas at our feet. It is worth a walk through the dunes and a swim in the translucent waters waiting for the fantastic sunset. Overnight in Santo Amaro.
• DAY 3 – Santo Amaro
  Destination: Santo Amaro
  After breakfast and on board of our private 4×4 (jeep) we’ll get to know one of the most untouched and impacting regions of Lençóis Maranhenses. We will start with the Betânia Circuit through the village of the same name and the banks of its lagoon, where we will take a pleasant canoe ride to the gigantic dunes on the opposite side. The exuberant and overwhelming nature and the slow way of life of the residents will transport us to a dreamlike atmosphere. Return to the hotel in a 4×4 vehicle, free time and overnight in Santo Amaro.
• DAY 4 – Santo Amaro / Barreirinhas
  Destination: Barreirinhas
  After breakfast we’ll take a private vehicle to Barreirinhas. The trip takes about 4 hours approximately. After check in and lunch (not included), we will take a tour to the impressive Lençóis Maranhenses National Park. On board of the 4×4 we will cross the Rio Preguiças by ferryboat and follow the sand trails for approximately 40 minutes until reaching the best lagoons of the season and their incredibly crystal clear waters, an irresistible invitation for a swim.
  Before returning to the lodging, we’ll experience the sunset at Lençóis Maranhenses, one of the most remarkable experiences that nature can give us.
• DAY 5 – Barreirinhas / Caburé / Atins
  Destination: Atins
  After breakfast we’ll be driven to the port where we’ll board in fast speed boats through Preguiças River until Caburé Beach. On the way, palm trees and mangroves are home to birds, reptiles and mammals. The first stop will be at the village of Vassouras, one of the many points where the dunes of the Pequenos Lençóis meet the Rio Preguiças. Monkeys and parrots make the party of the tourists who stop to refresh themselves with cold drinks served in the shade of the tents. We will then take the motor-boat to the Mandacaru lighthouse in the village of the same name, which from the top of its eight stories will reveal in 360 degrees all the exuberance of the place. We will continue to the village of Cabure and its inns and rustic restaurants, where we will have lunch (not included). Then we’ll cross the Preguiças River until the village of Atins where we’ll spend the night.
• DAY 6 – Atins
  Destination: Atins
  After breakfast we’ll go for a tour to Canto do Atins, a small village that serves as the entrance to Lençóis. We will visit the best lagoons of the season and will stop for lunch (not included) at Luzia’s or Antônio’s restaurant, famous for their typical cuisine in the entire region. After the tour, we will return to Atins, where we will have some free time to stroll around or just rest at the hotel. Overnight stay in the chosen lodging category.
• DAY 7 – Atins / Cabure / Parnaiba
  Destination: Parnaíba
  After breakfast, we’ll cross Preguiças River in a speedboat and say goodbye to Lençóis on board of powerful 4×4 vehicles. Deserted beaches, fields and dunes make up the landscape on this stretch. We will pass through Paulino Neves that exhibits its white sand streets and its wooden bridge over the Novo River. We will then continue to Tutóia to take the speedboat with which we will cross the Parnaíba Delta and its majestic maze of islands (Igoronhon, Paulino Island, Caju and Canarias) where we will stop at Morro do Meio for a quick walk on the gigantic dunes of the Caju Bay and a dip in the waters of the Parnaíba. During the tour there is a stop at Morro do Meio for a quick walk over the gigantic dunes of the Caju Bay and a dip in the waters of the Parnaíba River. The beautiful guará bird with its bright red plumage can be seen by the hundreds as they perch at sunset in a rare and unforgettable spectacle (animal sightings depend on several natural factors combined). We will return to the Tatus Port, where we will be transferred for fifteen minutes to the hotel.
• Day 8 – Parnaíba / Teresina
  Destination: Teresina
  After breakfast the vehicle will pick us up at the hotel and drive us through BR 343 to the Sete Cidades National Park. The park is one of the most visited in Brazil, with 25 thousand visitors per year. It stands out for its picturesque sandstone formations and rock inscriptions. A specialized guide will lead the group through the Seven Stone Cities, showing its particularities and curiosities.
  The journey begins in the Sixth City where the attraction is the Pedra da Tartaruga (Turtle Rock), named after the shape of the animal’s hull. The Elephant Stone is another singularity of this city. The Second City is one of the most interesting places in the park. Natural monuments are the stage for the expression of prehistoric man through monochromatic paintings.
  The Pedra do Americano and dos Seis Dedos make this manifestation clear, with their geometric and intriguing designs. Prepare 3 requests very carefully, for when you pass under the Arch of Triumph they will come true, says the legend. Beliefs aside, this beautiful formation impresses as much as the Library, with its stones reminiscent of stacked books. After a light climb, the Park then opens up to the viewer’s eyes, who can see the Stone Cities through the Panoramic View. In the Fourth City, there are several arches (which is a constant in Sete Cidades) with interesting shapes.
  The Archete, Map of Brazil, Map of Ceará, and the Indian Passage are examples.
  Knowing the history of the Healer José Catirina, makes a visit to the cave where he lived a mystical experience. Even today it is possible to see traces of his presence, whether in the hole found in the rock on the cave floor, used to prepare his medicinal portions, or in the tomb that holds the remains of his son. The Furna do Índio is the most amazing formation in the Fifth City, along with the inscriptions found there. There you can also photograph the Camel Rock, the King’s Rock, and the Guardhouse, all with their peculiar shapes.
  With the largest number of geological monuments in the Park, walking through the Third City is an invitation to the imagination! There you will find the Emperor’s Stone, the God’s Finger, the Old Black Man’s Stone, the Kissing Stone, the Three Wise Men Stone, the Stone of Our Lady, the Oratory Stone, the Pigeon Stone, and again the Map of Brazil, this time, amazingly, with divisions by states.
  The last one will be the first! To end this disturbing itinerary, the First City will show: the Forest of Stone, the Stone of Cannons, the Olha D’agua dos Milagres, the Stone of the Bule, the Map of Piauí, and to close with great style, the Riachão Waterfall (during the flood season).
  Visits to the Seventh City are prohibited. It keeps the wild fauna and flora of the place under lock and key, so that it can maintain all its exuberance, away from the snooping eyes of the animal-man.
  Internationally known, the Sete Cidades National Park has already been mentioned by the French writer Erich Von Däniken, author of the cult “Were the Gods Astronauts?”, and has aroused great interest in several scientific segments, attracting historians, geologists, archeologists and even ufologists.
  In the late afternoon we will leave for Teresina where we will spend the night.
• Day 9 – Teresina / São Raimundo Nonato
  Destination: São Raimundo Nonato
  After breakfast we will be driven in an air-conditioned vehicle to the city of São Raimundo Nonato, the main city in the surroundings of the Serra da Capivara National Park. Free time and overnight.
• Day 10 – São Raimundo Nonato
  Destination: São Raimundo Nonato
  After breakfast we will be driven to the Serra da Capivara National Park. We will visit the Desfiladeiro da Capivara, 43 km from São Raimundo Nonato. This pass has been used since prehistoric times by local populations. When the Brazilian colonizers arrived a little over a century ago, they exterminated the indigenous populations that lived here and used this passage as a road to the north of the state. The construction of BR 20 deactivated this road.
  Because of its configuration, the gorge retains moisture better, thus the vegetation suffers the effects of the dry season later. Today, as millennia ago, this path provides access to a number of rock painting sites located in shelters on both sides of the narrow valley.
  The paintings, characterized by their narrativity, are part of a class known as the Northeast Tradition.The figures can be easily recognized and often depict scenes from the daily and ceremonial life of the human groups that inhabited the region in prehistoric periods. Some of the paintings at these sites are among the oldest in the Northeast Tradition. They belong to the period known as Serra da Capivara and compose the visual history of prehistory. Research indicates that they began to be painted 12,000 years BP. We will visit the following sites: Toca do Paraguaio, Toca da Entrada do Pajau, Toca do Barro, Toca da Entrada do Baixão da Vaca. At the end of the visit we drive to the artisanal ceramic workshop “Serra da Capivara”, an important socio-economic project created by the Fundação Museu do Homem Americano. There is a simple regional restaurant on site.
• Day 11 – São Raimundo Nonato
  Destination: São Raimundo Nonato
  We will visit the Museum of American Man, located in the city of São Raimundo Nonato, which offers a permanent exhibition of the findings of three decades of interdisciplinary research in the National Park. The permanent exhibition reconstitutes life in prehistoric times. It is the most complete and modern in South America in this specialty.
  We will then return to the Serra da Capivara National Park, specifically to the Pedra Furada region (28 km) and initially visit the Baixão das Mulheres. On a walk of about 700 m we will get to know: Baixão das Mulheres II Cave, Baixão das Mulheres I Cave. Afterwards we will stop at the Visitor Center and in the afternoon visit the Baixão da Pedra Furada. It is in the valley of the Baixão da Pedra Furada that we will find the triumphal arch of the Pedra Furada, a geological monument. We will also see: Cajueiro Cave, Fumaça Cave, Sítio do Meio Cave. We will end the day at the illuminated site Boqueirão da Pedra Furada, this archeological site opened a gap in what was thought to be explained.
  The finds were so many and so well dated that they started a revolution in American archeology. This museum-site is a monument to prehistory. Human groups, for millennia, painted on its walls, constituting a true record of communication. The visual synthesis of a history, written over 29,000 years, has survived violent climate changes, and today tries to resist human depredation.
• Day 12 – São Raimundo Nonato / Petrolina
  Destination: Petrolina
  After breakfast, we will be driven in an air-conditioned vehicle to the city of Petrolina, where we will end our trip. End of services.
  IMPORTANT:
  All Eco Adventure Tour itineraries are customizable. Delete, replace or add hotels, tours and transfers according to your needs.