Cazz - Chapada Diamantina National Park

Lencois is a fabulous tiny town that evolved when diamonds were discovered in the nearby Chapada Diamantina National Park around 1800.

I arrived on my own at 4am in pitch dark after a sleepless 6 hour bus ride from Salvador and for the first time since arriving in Brazil felt completely safe. The town itself has so much charm and is set on a river with waterfalls and fabulous rock formations including a natural waterslide - fun!

The nearby National Park has some amazing features including several caves, underwater rivers and a fabulous blue grotto so clear it´s impossible to tell where the water begins.

Our tour group took a snorkel in the blue grotto, definitely not for you claustrophobic types out there but again the clarity and colours in the water were truly beautiful.

A short walk from the town took me to a fabulous series of waterfalls and pools where the local women do all of their hand washing, jawdroppingly beautiful views in every direction. Here I met a group of climbers (in flip flops and bare feet) who convinced me to climb up over a sizeable waterfall to access a shortcut back to town to catch the bus that I was now very late for. The climb had my legs aching but it was seriously fun stuff and I was rewarded with fabulous views of the area plus a delightful swimming hole complete with waterfall shower to cool off in. Heaven.

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