Tabuleiro / Belo Horizonte — Brazil

Just a 1 hour flight from the vibrant sounds of Rio and Carnival is an endless unspoiled sub tropical rainforest, rare and deadly fauna and wondrous hikes. Tabuleiro with the largest waterfall in the state of Minas Gerais (General Mines) and its sprawling capital Belo Horizonte (Beautiful Horizon) deliver a unique off the beaten track experience.

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Tabuleiro

As you drive through the hills towards Tabuleiro you start to see amazing rock formations and the vibrant orange cliffs of the famous waterfall in the distance.

Left: The rock formations in the hills of Minas Gerias Right: Cachoeira do Tabuleiro — Tabuleiro Waterfall

The small village of Tabuleiro has a relaxed atmosphere of friendly locals who gather every weekend for a rambunctious session of music and drinks at the small pub on the main street.

Left: Horses grazing, Tabuleiro church visible through the trees Right: The dogs of Tabuleiro join a weekend music session under the Guava tree

Left: Friends chat in the kitchen Middle: A motorcyclist drives up the main road of Tabuleiro Right: The village is built a-top unique rocky hills

Cachoeira do Tabuleiro

After a tough drive navigating the storm damaged roads and a hike down the hill side, we arrived to the bottom of the river which flowed from the cascades above.

Left: Recent Storms damaged the dirt roads Right: The waterfall in the distance as we hiked closer

The water was a dark coca-cola colour similar to the creek water in the Northern Rivers of NSW, Australia where I grew up

Cachoeira do Tabuleiro in all its glory

Closer to the waterfall, our friends explained that when the storms are heavy the cascade quickly explodes and makes the entire river a deadly torrent.

The location has been visited by indigenous people since ancient times and apparently people occasionally spot Jaguar’s up in the middle of the orange cliffs.

Cachoeira Rabo de Cavalo

The next day we drove through the hills and our friends navigated paddocks without roads and flooded tracks. Our destination was Cachoeira Rabo de Cavalo or Horse’s Tail Waterfall.

Left: Leandro directing his brother Anderson to a path through the grass Right: Anderson grins as he gears up to take on the flooded road in our rental car

A poor starving dog near the entrance to the National Park plays with Leandro after we fed the dogs a few small treats

After a hike through the vibrant Jungle we came to an amazing view of the waterfall into a large deep swimming hole below. The cascade created so much force hitting the water there was constant air pressure forcing the surface water towards the rocks. We all jumped in for a swim and the water was ice cold but invigorating.

The metallic fungus growing on the wet cliffs shines in the sunlight

Emma at the bottom showing the scale of the Waterfall and Cliffs

Pitt stop for some hard earned Cerveja (Beer) after a long day

During our visit to the town we were reminded of how serious the mosquito borne virus problems are in Brazil at the moment. We had our Yellow Fever vaccinations before leaving Germany but for many other diseases like Zika there is no vaccination. Our visit was in December 2017, not long after we left another yellow fever outbreak occurred in January 2018.

A sign reads “a care is worth three” — Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika; three Mosquito borne viruses in the local area

Congonhas

Our third Waterfall hike was a lot harder. We followed the river up stream for over an hour, scrambling over rocks and wading through knee deep water while carefully carrying the Sony camera.

Left: Water cascades down from the distinctive orange cliffs Right: An island of vegetation grows under the waterfall

Left: Leandro enjoys the tranquillity Right: The coca-cola coloured water courses over the ancient rocks

Belo Horizonte

We spent a short time in Belo before flying out to Florianópolis for Christmas. Leandro showed some amazing views of the city as we toured the town and tasted some local delicacies like Açaí Ice Cream.

Emma and Leandro looking out over Belo Horizonte — Beautiful Horizon

Old friends watch the sun set over a lake in Belo Horizonte

Extras

Left: Waterfall in the distance Right: Getting directly under Cachoeira do Tabuleiro requires an extra 30 minutes of intense rock scrambling

Waiting out the rain before hiking to the waterfall

Waterfall Selfies

Left: Home made Currasco (Brazillian BBQ) every night Right: The fruit and veg in Brazil is gigantic 😜

Left: A Folgado being told to leave the house Right: Scratching the lovely Peludinho (sounds like Billy Jean) the Border Collie

Hanging out with the Tabuleiro crew at a local water hole for the afternoon

Watching the sun go down

Next Up

Punta del Diablo / Colonia — Uruguay
Located just a 40 minute drive from the Brazilian border, Punta del Diablo (Devil’s Point) is a cute seaside fishing village with a chilled out vibe.