To meet the great demand for visitation, as of February 19, shortly after the carnival, the dunes of the Jalapão State Park in Tocantins can be visited already in the early afternoon. The opening of the attraction earlier, at 2:00 p.m., will allow the return of all visitors to the parking lot access to the sandbars until the end of the visitation schedule at 18:30. The last visitors must enter the protected area, no later than 5:30 pm, one hour before the visitation ends.

In the morning, from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m., access will only be allowed – with prior scheduling – to institutional groups, such as schools; for use of commercial images; scientific research and field lessons. The Nature Institute of Tocantins (Naturatins) considered the intense volume of daily visitation to direct the monitors that control visitors’ access throughout the day. Nowadays, the travel agencies concentrate the entry of the tourists in the dunes at dusk, increasing the demand of the technical team of control and monitoring of the visitation.

The dunes of Jalapão, of golden color at sunset, resemble a desert and are the main attraction of the place. The extensive tourist region of Tocantins has dozens of natural attractions scattered throughout the municipalities of Ponte Alta do Tocantins, Mateiros and São Félix do Tocantins. Visitors travel hundreds of miles of dirt roads that give access to the clear-water rivers, such as the majestic Sono River and the Soninho River; and transparent waterfalls, among them, the waterfalls of the Old, the Ant and the Arara. The scenarios sculpted by water and wind are breathtaking. The Sussuapara Canyon and sandstones such as Pedra Furada stand out.

Another feature of Jalapão is the “fervedouros”, deep springs that form small lakes. The pressure of the water that flows from the interior of the earth allows the bather to relax on the surface of the natural pools without danger of sinking. Despite the ambient temperature, the bubbling water in the sandy bottom shows a boil.

Jalapão is also the birthplace of Capim Dourado, known as the “jewel” of Tocantins. The fiber shines like gold and can only leave the Tocantins after it has been manufactured. In the skilled hands of the artisans, Capim Dourado is transformed into imitation jewelry, bags, hats, decorative and utilitarian pieces exported to the other Brazilian states and several countries.

For more information, you can contact us at (63) 3534-1072 or by e-mail: pejalapao@naturatins.to.gov.br.

Source: Ministry of Tourism

Photo: Monique Renne