Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park

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Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park (Parque Nacional da Chapada dos Veadeiros in Portuguese) is a preservation area in Brazil, located in the State of Goiás - 250 km from Brasília (federal capital) and 500 km from Goiânia (state capital). The park, that was created on January 11, 1961 by decree #49875/61, occupies an area of 655 square kilometres and is maintained by IBAMA. Visitors can enjoy its hot tropical, semi-humid climate, with average yearly temperatures of 24-26 Celsius degrees, ranging from a minimum of 4-8 Celsius degrees and reaching a maximum of 40-42 Celsius degrees.

With altitudes between 600 and 1650 meters, it is the highest plain in Central Brazil. The highest point of the park is Serra da Santana.

The main river in the park is the Rio Preto, a tributary of the Tocantins River. Along its course, there are many waterfalls, such as the Rio Preto Falls (120 meters high, 80 meters at the base) and the Cariocas Falls. The canyons are just as beautiful, with walls of up to 40 meters high and valleys of up to 300 meters.

Rock crystals are present in the soil of the rich Cerrado, or open pasture. Forest growth is also still found in the region, where more than 25 species of orchids can be found, besides other Brazilian species such as Pau d'Arco Roxo, Copaíba (Copa Tree), Aroeira (California pepper tree), Tamanqueira (Cork Tree), Jerivá (a variety of Palm Tree), Buritis (Wine-palm) and Babaçu (Babassu).

The rich fauna of the region includes species threatened by extinction such as the pampas deer (locally known as veado campeiro), marsh deer (cervo do pantanal), maned wolves (lobo guará), jaguar, and others like the rhea (ema), seriema, tapeti, giant armadillo (tatu canastra), anteater (tamanduá), capybara (capivara), tapir (anta), green-beaked toucan (tucano de bico verde), black vulture (urubu), and the king vulture (urubu rei).

Besides the modest Visitor Center, the Veadeiros National Park has special lodging for researchers. Visitors are accompanied by tour guides that can be found in Alto Paraíso de Goiás or São Jorge, Goiás village, both neighboring the park.