Chapada Diamantina is a highland region in the centre of Bahia of table mountains, canyons and dark-water rivers, about 315 km west of Salvador in a straight line. At its heart is the Parque Nacional da Chapada Diamantina, 152,000 hectares run by the Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio), with almost 300 km of trails reached through six towns: Andaraí, Ibicoara, Itaetê, Lençóis, Mucugê and Palmeiras. ICMBio charges no entry fee and runs no guard posts or visitor centre inside the park.
That openness comes with conditions. ICMBio recommends a visitor guide (condutor) and calls one essential on unmarked, long or rugged trails, there is no phone signal on most of them, fires are banned throughout the park, and domestic animals are not allowed. The Cachoeira da Fumaça, one of the tallest waterfalls in Brazil, is reached by a trail of about 5 km and two hours from the village of Campos in the Vale do Capão, with about an hour of steep climbing. The Vale do Pati takes three to five days on foot, and the nights there are spent in local residents' houses.
Not every postcard view is in the national park. The Morro do Pai Inácio, the flat-topped hill above the BR-242 about 15 km northwest of Lençóis in a straight line, sits in the Parque Natural Municipal do Pai Inácio, run by the Prefeitura de Palmeiras, which sets its own entry fee and hours. The Serrano pools and the Salão de Areias on the edge of Lençóis are in the Parque Municipal da Muritiba, where the Prefeitura de Lençóis has sold timed tickets online since September 2022.
Lençóis is the base for most visits: a diamond-rush town whose architectural ensemble the Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional (IPHAN) listed in 1973, 570 buildings of adobe and stone around the Praça Horácio de Matos and a stone bridge of 1860. People booking here are hikers and couples who want a landscape with no beach in it: elopements on a rim, couple sessions by a waterfall, aerial work over the mesas.
Popular photography locations in Chapada Diamantina
The best hour at each, and what a professional session there needs in the way of a permit — with the issuing authority and the date it was last checked.
Morro do Pai Inácio
A flat-topped hill above the BR-242 with a short, steep path to a summit that looks over the table mountains of the region. It is a municipal park, outside the national park, so Palmeiras sets its hours and rules.
Best time
Sunset from the summit, with the mesas lit side-on
Permit
Entry fee charged by the Prefeitura de Palmeiras, which runs the Parque Natural Municipal do Pai Inácio; the figure changes, so it is checked with the municipality before booking
A waterfall that drops off the rim of the plateau into a canyon, seen from a ledge at the top. The trail is about 5 km from Campos, in the Vale do Capão, with about an hour of steep climbing and no river to swim in on the way.
Best time
Mid-morning, after the two-hour climb from the Vale do Capão
Permit
No ICMBio entry fee; a visitor guide is recommended, and ICMBio does not require authorisation to photograph in places and at hours open to visitors
A deep green valley enclosed by cliffs, crossed on foot between the Vale do Capão, Guiné, Andaraí and Mucugê. Routes run from 30 to about 60 km, and the only beds are in the houses of the families who live there.
Best time
Early morning in the valley, on a multi-day trek
Permit
No ICMBio entry fee; routes of 3 to 5 days with nights in residents' houses, and a visitor guide is essential on long, unmarked trails
A nineteenth-century diamond town of 570 listed buildings in bright colours, set in a natural amphitheatre on the eastern slope of the Serra do Sincorá, with a stone bridge of 1860 over the Rio Lençóis.
Best time
Blue hour, when the lamps come on along the cobbled streets
Permit
Free to photograph from the public streets of the ensemble IPHAN listed in 1973
Parque Municipal da Muritiba (Serrano and Salão de Areias)
Natural pools in red-brown rock on the Rio Serrano, a short walk from the centre of Lençóis, and above them the coloured sands of the Salão de Areias. The park covers about 66 hectares of caatinga.
Best time
Late afternoon, when the rock pools catch the low sun
Permit
Timed tickets bought online with a QR code since September 2022; the upper circuit to the Salão de Areias needs a local visitor guide
A flooded plain of slow rivers and water plants that ICMBio calls the "pantanal" of the Chapada, paddled by canoe, kayak or stand-up board from Lençóis or Andaraí.
Best time
Morning on the water, before the wind
Permit
No ICMBio entry fee; canoe trips run about four hours from Remanso to the Rio Roncador
ICMBio warns that rain reshapes the river beds and that some waterfalls dry up in the months without it, so the flow at the Fumaça and the colour of the rivers change through the year. The sun rises at about 05:17 in late December and 06:05 in late June, and sets at about 18:09 and 17:28, with long, low light on the mesas at both ends of the day.
These come under the Chapada Diamantina rate: a photographer travels out at no extra charge, and the session is priced exactly as it would be in Chapada Diamantina itself.
Lençóis
Vale do Capão
Palmeiras
Andaraí
Mucugê
Igatu
Questions about photography in Chapada Diamantina
Is there an entry fee for the Parque Nacional da Chapada Diamantina?
No. ICMBio charges no entry fee for the Parque Nacional da Chapada Diamantina, which has no guard posts or visitor centre inside. Municipal parks in the Chapada Diamantina are different: the Morro do Pai Inácio and the Parque Municipal da Muritiba in Lençóis charge their own entry.
Do we need a guide for a photo session in Chapada Diamantina?
ICMBio recommends a visitor guide in the Parque Nacional da Chapada Diamantina and calls one essential on unmarked, long or rugged trails such as the Vale do Pati, where there is no phone signal. In Lençóis, the upper circuit of the Parque Municipal da Muritiba requires a local guide by municipal rule.
Is the Morro do Pai Inácio part of the national park in Chapada Diamantina?
No. The Morro do Pai Inácio in Chapada Diamantina is in the Parque Natural Municipal do Pai Inácio, run by the Prefeitura de Palmeiras, about 15 km northwest of Lençóis in a straight line. The municipality sets its entry fee and hours, and ICMBio's national-park rules do not apply on the summit.
How long is the walk to the Cachoeira da Fumaça in Chapada Diamantina?
The trail to the top of the Cachoeira da Fumaça in Chapada Diamantina is about 5 km and takes about two hours from the village of Campos in the Vale do Capão, including about an hour of steep climbing, according to ICMBio. There is no river to bathe in along the way.
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