“Here and there, between the stern peaks, lie patches of snow-white sand or a narrow bit of green plain, confused and orderless, a fibre in the core of rockmountain.

The land… is illiterate, and it is wild.”

— Sir Richard Francis Burton,
Explorations of the Highlands of the Brazil (1869)

At a Glance

A wild ride across the high savannah

Duration: 14 days / 13 nights

Group size: Maximum 6 travelers

Departure: April 26 – May 9, 2027

Price per traveler: US$16,995

Hold my place →

A fast-moving, 14-day exploration of the Espinhaço on foot, in the saddle, by 4×4, and by river, through weathered backroads, small towns, remote outposts, and wide stretches of untamed cerrado.
The Highlands of Brazil is our most kinetic Expedition, with wilderness camps, village nights, river baths, dusty roads, and hard-earned camaraderie all arriving in quick succession. In just two weeks, we'll encounter an extraordinary variety of landscapes and ways of life, often separated by little more than a day's journey.
Slow mornings. Long stretches of downtime. Seamless connectivity. Carefully insulated travel.
This is a crossing through living landscapes. Distances are substantial, the roads can be rough, and sometimes the weather or terrain has other ideas.
Accommodations range from wilderness camps and rustic refuges to simple homestays and the occasional touch of luxury. Comforts vary because the places themselves do, and each contributes something different to our understanding of the range.
Water crossings, dust, insects, and the occasional bushwhack are all part of life in the range.
High. This is our most kinetic Expedition: geographically ambitious, with constant changes of terrain and modes of travel.
Days may include trekking, horseback riding, river crossings, and overland travel—sometimes all within the same day. Distances are substantial, recovery days are few, and adaptability matters as much as stamina.
This Expedition isn’t about peak performance. It’s about energy, resilience, flexibility, and a willingness to stay fully engaged.
It’s best suited for fit, resilient travelers who are comfortable with sustained activity, changing conditions, and nights that range from rustic to refined.
Cerrado (Brazilian savannah)
Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Forest)
This expedition crosses a broad swath of the Espinhaço: from its eastern highlands to the western sertão, tracing river valleys, transitional forests, and wide stretches of high savannah along the way. The shift from windswept ridgelines near Itambé to the rolling lowlands beyond the range is gradual, but unmistakable.
April 26 – May 09, 2027
Reservations open
Travelers who want to cover real ground through a variety of high savannah landscapes and small communities, and are comfortable shifting between rustic and refined, river and road, and saddle and trail.
You don’t need to be a professional athlete to join us on this expedition, but you should be physically prepared for long, varied days and nights, and mentally prepared to rarely sit still.

If this sounds like your kind of crossing, we’re happy to talk it through.

Talk with Eddie →

Contents

Highlights
Itinerary
Setting
Route
Where We Sleep
What We Eat
Crew
What’s Included
Themes
Recap
Calendar & Pricing
Odds & Ends
Gallery
FAQ’s

Lost Trails / Bad Roads / Long Nights

18 dispatches from the crossing →

Riding through the Hinterlands

A centuries-old way of moving through the range
If you’ve ever dreamed of riding a trusty steed through flowing rivers, head-high grasses, and the rocky passes of Brazil’s interior, now’s your chance.
Horses and mule trains have carried people and goods across these mountains for centuries. Even today, horseback remains one of the most natural—and beloved—ways to move through the landscape.
Our traverses of the steep and spectacular Mato dos Crioulos (Day 4) and the winding Vale do Rio Preto (Day 12) can be done either on foot or in the saddle, as can the open dirt roads of the Sertão (Days 8–9).
Inexperienced riders are welcome on most stretches. Should you prefer to walk, pack animals can carry the weight.
Either way, you’ll be tracing the same routes once traveled by tropeiros and cattle drivers moving through the highlands centuries ago.
The Mosaic

A vast protected landscape, and the stage for everything to come
The Serra do Espinhaço Meridional harbors a vast patchwork of protected land: nineteen conservation units and buffer zones spanning nearly five million acres of Cerrado and Atlantic Forest.
Collectively they form the Mosaic of the Espinhaço, home to one of the highest concentrations of plant endemism on Earth and one of Brazil’s least-visited protected landscapes.
For travelers drawn to vast wilderness, questionable roads, unfiltered culture, and the rare pleasure of moving through a place where visitors are still treated as guests, there’s nothing quite like it.
Pico do Itambé

A mountain. A monument. A milestone.
The region’s undisputed icon, Pico do Itambé (2,052 m), watches over the range like a citadel, living up to its billing as “the roof of the Espinhaço.”
Rising more than a thousand meters above the surrounding peaks, it marks a hard divide between the Jequitinhonha and Doce river basins, and a softer one between the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado.
You’ll feel every step of the climb on Day 3.
And then we’ll gently remind you that the day is only half done.
Backroading

Part transfer. Part contact sport.
There’s “off-roading”… and then there are the backroads of the Espinhaço, where dirt tracks intersect with rivers, potholes become craters, and harrowing bridges, devastating lombadas, and the occasional white-sand beach are all part of the daily commute.
We’ll have the pleasure of traversing some 300 km of backroads during the Expedition, including an ambitious partial crossing of Sempre Vivas National Park on Day 8. The Park may be a national treasure. Its road network? More debatable.
Our vehicle of choice is the legendary Toyota Bandeirante, a diesel-powered Brazilian Land Cruiser produced from 1962 to 2001.
Mud, deep ruts, and the occasional bout of improvised teamwork come with the territory. We recommend relaxing and enjoying the ride.
Paddling the Inhacicão

White sand, wild country, and the long way in
So much of Sempre Vivas is about movement through silence and distance. Fittingly, even the way in feels like part of the crossing.
Day 6 begins with rough backroads, followed by a hike through burití-laced wetlands and a canoe journey up the Inhacica Grande River, one of the Jequitinhonha’s most pristine tributaries.
White sand banks, still water, overhanging palms, and long stretches without signs of settlement make this one of the quietest corners of the range—though the wilderness ahead grows wilder still.
Tomorrow morning, we begin our crossing of Sempre Vivas.
Tonight, though, we pitch our tents on powder-soft sand beside the river and light the campfire beneath the stars. A gentle waterfall nearby serves as our bathhouse. Bathing is optional.
Exploring Sempre Vivas

Half bushwhack. Half fever-dream.
There’s a saying in the Espinhaço that all stones look like diamonds, but diamonds don’t resemble any other stone. The same might be said of Sempre Vivas National Park, a vast stretch of protected high savannah unlike anywhere else in the range.
Roughly the size of Los Angeles and home to only a handful of full-time residents, Sempre Vivas remains one of Brazil’s least-visited and least-developed protected landscapes of its size.
We’ll spend four full, long days (Days 7–8 and 11–12) trekking, riding, and occasionally bushwhacking our way across the Park, from the lush wetlands in the east to the windswept high campos of the west, pitching tents alongside unnamed waterfalls and seasonal refuges along the way.
The realities of the trail here are straightforward: sharp grass, little shade, saturated ground, long distances, river crossings, and the occasional snake in the brush.
The rewards are harder to explain. Silence. Vast night skies. Teamwork. The feeling that you’ve suddenly become part of the landscape.
Nowhere else in the Espinhaço feels quite like Sempre Vivas.
Curimataí, heartbreaker

Peace, pillows, porch swings. And one very hard goodbye.
Nestled against the green western slopes of the Espinhaço, between gentle river bends and sun-kissed waterfalls, unassuming Curimataí is the kind of place that barely registers on an itinerary—then promptly refuses to leave your mind.
After two long days of sharp grass, saturated ground, and “roads” in Sempre Vivas, we’ll arrive on Day 8 ready for life’s gentler pleasures: soft pillows, shaded porches, cold drinks, and enormous helpings of home-cooked food (oh, the meals!).
There’s something immensely satisfying about sitting on a porch, watching the world go by, and realizing that for the first time in days, there's absolutely nowhere else you need to be.
Unfortunately, we'll have just one evening and a morning before turning south again—this time toward hot springs, waterfalls, and open roads.
Few places do “arrival” like Curimataí.
Fewer still are harder to leave.
Backcountry Nights

Between villages and the stars
Pousadas and homestays connect us to the famous hospitality of the range. Nights in the landscape remind us why hospitality became a way of life here.
During longer wilderness stretches, we pitch tents beside rivers, in high savannah clearings, and near old routes traveled by miners, flower-pickers, and muleteers for generations.
The idea sounds romantic: cooking simply, sharing drinks by the fire, drying our boots nearby, and watching the light leave the mountains. The reality is far more comforting: safety, silence, rest.
We’ll make camp three times during the expedition (Days 6, 7, and 11), along with a memorable stay in one of the range’s most iconic backcountry refuges (Day 4).
The landscape has always shaped how people travel, settle, and look after one another in the Espinhaço. A night in camp helps us understand that relationship firsthand.
Trés Chic Santa Bárbara

The Sertão’s idea of a good time
A former textile village turned hot-springs resort, complete with plastic wristbands and “chalets” that once housed the factory’s middle managers? A bona fide oasis of palm trees and crystalline creeks in the middle of the dusty sertão?
Welcome to the thoroughly improbable Vila de Santa Bárbara. Part ranching outpost, part weekend retreat, part resort town, Santa Bárbara is quirky, a little disorganized, and perhaps a hair too pleased with itself. It’s also gorgeous, thoroughly gostoso, and blessed with a poolside bar and a waterfall worth leaving it for.
We’ll have one evening here on Day 9 to make sense of it all. Fortunately, burgers, hot springs, cobblestone, and cold beer require no explanation.
Her Majesty, Santa Rita

A grand entrance to the western wilds
Pristine, majestic, and appropriately difficult to reach, Santa Rita Waterfall marks our arrival in the western reaches of the Espinhaço.
Known to the surrounding communities for generations, the falls remained more rumor than attraction to the outside world until recently. Rough roads, no proper trail, and a pair of short, rather inconvenient climbs have helped keep it that way.
And what a reward awaits: a vast cascade plunging into a deep canyon, framed by steep quartzite walls and some of the wildest scenery anywhere in the range.
We'll arrive on Day 11. The view from above is worth the journey alone. Should conditions permit, a pair of short, optional climbs will take us down to the pool for a swim with the gods.
Vamo que vamo.
Quartel do Indaiá

A storybook ending
There are stretches of trail, and there are stretches of trail. Our final traverse of the Expedition—through the alluring Vale do Rio Preto on Day 12—falls squarely in the latter category.
Twenty-eight kilometers of engaging, technical terrain: messy bogs and head-high grass, shimmering white sand and loose gravel, steep ascents and deep water crossings, all through constantly changing, unmanicured high savannah. For a certain type of traveler, it's a rare gift. For everyone, it's an exhausting day.
By the time we've waded across the Rio Caeté-Mirim and reached the softly lit dirt roads of Quartel do Indaiá—often by moonlight—we'll be ready for a proper ending.
The secluded quilombola village is one of the Espinhaço's true cultural jewels, with a history that extends well beyond the diamond trade. Simply put, it doesn't feel quite like anywhere else in the range.
For some, a hot shower, cold drinks, a home-cooked dinner, and a soft bed will be more than enough.
For others, there’s still a village to explore, a little buteco next door, and a firepit in the orchard, with mountains fading into the darkness beyond.
Mystical Conselheiro Mata

Our idea of a pit stop
Dusty, rough around the edges (but only the edges), tiny Conselheiro Mata is a former railway town whose modern identity is more difficult to pin down. Mining outpost? Cowboy country? Esoteric retreat? An artists’ enclave with unusually good swimming?
Nowhere else in the Espinhaço do ranchers, mystics, miners, and eco-activists stake their claim with such conviction. The latest complication? A growing number of bikini-clad weekenders from Diamantina, coolers of beer in tow, with seven named waterfalls to choose from.
We won’t have time for a full investigation, but we’ll at least stop in on Day 10 for lunch at Teca’s and a swim at one of the falls just outside town.
As pit stops go, Conselheiro is wildly overqualified.
Waterfalls

The Espinhaço’s answer to sun, sea, and sand
Take it from us: attempting to count the waterfalls of the Espinhaço is an exercise in futility. So is trying to spend more than a day or two on the trail without bathing in one. One of the great pleasures of crossing the range is discovering just how dramatically the cachoeiras change character with the landscape.
In the eastern highlands, rivers tumble over quartzite slopes, creating tea-colored pools bordered by improbably white sand. Farther west, atop the vast plateaus of Sempre Vivas, the falls tend to become more discreet and elusive affairs, sometimes little more than a welcome interruption during an otherwise long day on the trail.
When the western escarpments arrive, modesty goes out the window: rivers spill into deep canyons and onto the lowlands, producing some of the grandest waterfalls in the Espinhaço.
We’ll encounter plenty of each during our Expedition, from small backcountry swimming holes to genuine showstoppers.
Some are best appreciated from the water. Strictly in the interest of geographical understanding, of course.
Telêsforo

Paradise, in negotiation
Of all the waterfalls in the Espinhaço, few exert the strange pull of Telêsforo.
Hidden within a broad valley of white-sand beaches, wetlands, and flowing water, it has long felt less like a waterfall than a gathering place—for swimmers, ranchers, overlanders, road-trippers, and anyone else willing to make the long drive into the western reaches of the range.
That popularity has changed the place. On busy weekends, the valley fills with churrasco smoke, coolers of beer, competing car speakers, and the occasional convoy of dusty 4×4s. Depending on your perspective, it’s either the Espinhaço’s version of Copacabana or a cautionary tale in real time.
Maybe it’s both.
We’ll stop at Telêsforo on Day 10 as we make our way back into the mountains. Bring a towel, a cervejinha, and an open mind.
Far-flung Santa Rita

A town at the edge of everything
Come for the mythical waterfall, stay for… the gentle breeze rolling over the pastures?
Perched on a privileged patch of windswept campos between the last mountains of the Espinhaço and the sweltering lowlands of the sertão, tiny Santa Rita is little more than a cluster of homes, corrals, weathered fences, and a clan of larger-than-life cattlefolk whose company we’ve grown rather fond of.
There’s not much to do, strictly speaking. Fast-moving clouds. Curious neighbors. Simple meals that always seem to find their way onto the front porch. And a constant breeze that somehow makes the whole thing feel like a good way to spend an evening.
Despite the lack of activity—or maybe because of it—Santa Rita keeps calling us back, and we can’t quite explain why.
Maybe it’s the last stand of the Espinhaço. Maybe it’s the beginning of the sertão.
Maybe it’s both.
We’ll spend the night here on Day 10, before descending into the lush valleys beyond. There’ll be plenty of time—and cold beer—to figure it out.
Biribiri

A vila between two worlds
Just outside Diamantina, Biribiri State Park is the Espinhaço’s most visited conservation unit, and one of its strangest contrasts.
The Park protects more than 42,000 acres of Cerrado surrounding a former textile village that shifts constantly between quiet highland outpost and bustling weekend destination, depending on the day and hour you arrive.
Cyclists, weekenders, tour buses from Montes Claros, and Diamantina’s well-dressed gente bonita crowd tend to gather around the waterfalls, roadside bars, and village center, while long stretches of historic trail sit empty just beyond them.
It’s a natural transition back toward the modern world beyond the range. We’ll stop in for lunch on Day 13 before continuing toward Diamantina.
The City of Diamonds

A colonial gem hidden in plain sight
UNESCO World Heritage city. Terminus of the Estrada Real. Former diamond capital of the world.
Diamantina somehow manages to be all of these things at once while remaining largely unvisited, even by Brazilians.
Música Popular Brasileira drifts through stone alleyways, tropeiro fills plates, and the view out the window could pass for something painted two centuries ago.
At times, Diamantina feels strangely untouched for a place of such beauty and history.
There’s no more fitting place to end a journey in the range. We’ll have a chance to do just that on Day 13.
A Night for the Ages

To life in the Espinhaço
From diamonds and stately architecture to former presidents and legendary Carnaval celebrations, Diamantina has no shortage of claims to fame.
It’s a bit ironic—and perhaps endearing—then, that one of its most beloved traditions is also one of its simplest: the Vesperata, a festive nighttime concert where musicians perform from balconies and windows while the audience gathers in the cobblestone streets below.
We’ll have the privilege of attending a Vesperata on the evening of Day 13. Expect a joyful mix of samba, bossa nova, Música Popular Brasileira (MPB), Beatles covers, and the occasional sing-along wedding-rock tune.
There may be more polished orchestras elsewhere. But there isn’t a place on earth where we’d rather celebrate the final night of the expedition together.

Itinerary

14 days of motion & dust across the backlands →

Day 1

Arrival in Brazil | highway and dirt roads | São Gonçalo do Rio das Pedras | pre-trail meeting | early rest
The expedition begins in motion. We drive north, gathering elevation as we make our way to the range. Crowded highways become single-lane roads. Asphalt gives way to dirt. Billboards become pastureland, then forest, rivers, and rocky outcrops.
Suddenly, the southeastern peaks come into view. A quiet town that feels impossible to reach. A comfortable bed at the end of the road. Wood-fired food and drinks nearby. We review the route and settle in. Tomorrow we hit the trail.
Day 2

First day on the trail | front- and backcountry | local cascades | early test | first glimpse of camposrupestres | thriving quilombola village
The walking begins after breakfast. First, dirt road. Then white sand, saturated ground, stone paths, and a mule-driver trail used for generations.
Elevation is metered but comes quickly. The landscape opens, and the Cerrado reveals itself. We follow the river to a thriving quilombola community.
A front porch, simple beds, and a wood-fired meal. Tomorrow is a big day.
Day 3

Backcountry push | quartzite slopes | iconic summit | mata atlântica | mountain homestead
A day of elevation and distance. Our push into the backcountry begins with a long climb to the range’s defining summit.
A brief pause. A big view. A steep and rocky golden hour descent. We follow a winding path further into the valley below, often arriving on tired legs after dark.
A riverside homestead awaits: wood fire, hot water, and a hearty meal beside the cascade.
Day 4

Long ascent | saddle support | final high peak | dusk descent | Mozart’s house | tropeiro feast
A second day of pushing north. A second day of sustained climbs.
A winding path through a long quilombola valley becomes a straight trail through high campos and another summit—our second in 24 hours. Most travelers opt for saddle support.
Golden-hour views give way to a nighttime descent. The refuge is simple and remote. Shared rooms, quiet hills, and a rustic tropeiro feast close one of the expedition’s heaviest days.
Day 5

A long descent into water | slickrock canyons | River Road | white-sand falls | marked trails | firelight and civilized comfort
A day of downhills and big views. We follow more recent trails atop the plateau down to the river below. High fields become rocky escarpments, then thick riparian forest.
The views are constant. Water is difficult to come by until it’s everywhere. The trail is technical in places.
A pair of defining waterfalls. A nighttime arrival. The chapter closes with firelight, cold drinks, and one of the expedition’s rare moments of refined comfort.
Day 6

Backroads and tributaries | the Jequitinhonha | 4×4, foot, tractor and canoe | riverside camp | tents and fire
The expedition turns west. A long breakfast followed by miles of dirt roads. A quiet quilombola village leads us to the river. Water, sky, and serra weave together.
A pristine tributary. A little-seen waterfall.
We make camp on white sand beside the water. Firelight and river sound close the day.
Day 7

The Cerrado changes | river at dawn | Contagem | vereda crossing | historic trail | high fields | camp by the old bridge
Sempre Vivas reveals the wild side of the range. Saturated ground. Waist-high grass. Disappearing paths. A lost trail leads us onto the plateau through palm-lined wetlands, tunnels of taquara, and unmanicured high savannah. Stories become warnings.
We pitch tents and make fire beside an unnamed cascade near a fallen bridge, deep in the Park.
Day 8

Bushwhack | abandoned roadbed | 4×4 lift | Lapa do Mundo Velho | night descent of the western escarpment | arrival in the lowlands | Sertão feast
A climax. We pack camp and press westward on foot, first through scrubland and dense taquara, later along a forsaken road toward our rendezvous with the vehicles.
Reaching the western reaches of the Park means crossing through its heart. We get there when we get there. In Lamarão we meet the horses and descend by saddle and moonlight into the Sertão.
Arrival at Gilma’s comes well after dark. Firelight. Cold drinks. Comfortable beds. The feast feels earned.
Day 9

Front-country | big-sky dirt roads | agrarian towns | frigid falls | sunset views | oasis in the Sertão
A day of drives, swims, meals, and rest. An unhurried breakfast on Gilma’s shaded porch. A nearby waterfall. Later, another. And another.
The horizon widens in this part of the range. Water spills down the escarpment. Dirt roads stretch toward Santa Bárbara.
The vila feels improbable here. Sunset from on high. Dinner and drinks on the praça. Creature comforts return. The lowlands are kind.
Day 10

Return to the 4×4 | back into the serra | Telêsforo | windswept outpost
The expedition veers eastward again. Vehicles carry us back into the mountains through long roads, small towns, and waterfalls scattered between serra and sertão.
A pause for white sand and cold water at one of the range’s great falls. A wide river crossing. A one-family town perched atop a windswept campo. We have the house to ourselves.
Day 11

On- and off-trail | steep descent | ropes and ladders | thunderous falls | quiet valley | firelight
A day of terrain and water. Historic footpaths and meandering cattle trails descend through campos rupestres and scrubland until trail gives way to rock, river, and sharp vegetation.
Eventually, the falls appear. Water thunders. Daylight fades. We climb, cross the river, and continue toward Lu’s old ranch as night settles into the valley.
Camp and firelight close the day.
Day 12

Final trail day | forgotten highway | hooves and boots | high savannah fields | water crossings | flower-picker hamlet
A final push eastward through a lost valley where trail and history intertwine. Head-high grass, knee-deep bogs, and a maze of creeks eventually give way to centuries-old dirt trail through thin savannah forest and sharp brush.
Later, atop the plateau, white quartzite sand and wide fields of campos rupestres. Upon descent, an empty riverbed leads the way between villages.
The crossing is substantial. The ground is technical and the pace brisk. Pack animals are available.
Quarteis is small and quiet. A wood-fired dinner at Sinara’s. Drinks next door. The bed feels earned.
Day 13

Winding backroads | signs of return | a path carved in memory | final waterfall | Diamantina | open-air celebration
A day of return. We take rough backroads through quiet former mining landscapes to an old company town alive with weekenders. A bustling praça. A pair of waterfalls.
The City of Diamonds comes into view. A golden hour descent along a path built by the enslaved. The cobblestone streets are full. They feel different.
Day 14

A fond farewell | overland return | dirt to asphalt | long road out | time to reflect
The expedition concludes as it began: in motion. A long breakfast. Dirt roads to asphalt. High savannah to pasture. Peaks to buildings.
The expedition ends. The journey home begins.

If this feels like your kind of crossing, we’re happy to talk it through.
Talk with Eddie →

Setting

The highlands of Brazil

Once the epicenter for the world’s diamond trade, Brazil’s Serra do Espinhaço was largely abandoned and forgotten by the outside world for nearly two centuries.

Today it’s on the edge of wider recognition as one of the most remarkable places on earth.

3 UNESCO Designations

2 Biodiversity Hotspots

19 Conservation Units

3,000+ species of plants (estimated)

7% of Brazil’s total biodiversity

0.8% of Brazil’s national territory

The Living Range →

Route

The road ahead

Map of Gift of Go's 14-day The Highlands of Brazil expedition in Brazil: protected conservation units, including September Vivas National Park, Biribiri, Rio Preto, and Itambé State Parks, and surrounding trekking, overlanding, and horseback routes.

Total days: 14

Trail days: 6–9*
Riding days: 0–4*
Overland days: 5–6*
River days: 1
Transition days: 2

Trail distance: 224 km
Overland distance: 290 km
Transit distance: 557 km

Total elevation gain/loss: 13,711 m

Average trail distance per day: 18.6 km

Travel modes are stacked on some days of the expedition: trekking, riding, overlanding, and river travel may all occur between destinations. Riding days are part of the trail distance total.

Where we sleep

Home, for the night →

Homestays (2 nights)

The trails will challenge us, and the peaks and waterfalls will leave us in awe, but in our experience, it’s the time we spend breaking bread with local families—sometimes well into the night—that provides the most enriching and memorable moments of any trip in this part of the world.
As if good company, unique accommodations, and home-cooked meals weren’t reason enough to embrace the experience, our patronage provides precious income opportunities for each of the households we visit—several of whose livelihoods changed dramatically in recent decades with the decline in mining—and helps build a culture that values the region’s overlooked history andnatural environment.
We’ll stay in an incredibly diverse array of unique and memorable places during our Expedition. We’re willing to bet that, years from now, it will be the homestays that still cross your mind daily.
Pousadas (4 nights)

Pousadas are synonymous with travel in Brazil—the rare institutions capable of transcending age, class, and generation.
Welcoming hosts, personal touches, and cafés da manha worth waking up for are the main hallmarks of these small, family-run inns—many of which are lifelong dreams brought to life by their owners.
We’ll have the privilege of staying in four unique pousadas during our Expedition—from chic historic inns to low-key country charmers. By and large, they represent some of our very favorite places to sleep and eat in the region.
Bom descanso!
Wilderness Campsites (3 nights)

Charming pousadas and heartwarming homestays connect us deeply to Brazil’s culture and history, but it wouldn’t be a GOGO trip without at least one night in the middle of nowher—er, the middle of nature. Lucky us, we’ll have 3 such opportunities during our Expedition.
When it comes to memorability (and, let’s be honest—location), there’s simply nothing like camping in the wilderness, be it on a riverside patch of soft white sand, alongside an anonymous waterfall in the pristine high savannah, or underneath the stars in a Tolkienesque river valley.
The Espinhaço is beautiful, and few experience it like this. It’s a privilege to be able to experience it alongside you.
Private Homes (2 nights)

As AirBnB can attest, sometimes the best way to experience a place is as one of the neighbors. We’ll have the privilege of overnighting in a pair of very different, but equally memorable homes during our Expedition.
Unlike homestays (in which the household is present and receives us), our group will have these places all to ourselves, allowing us to literally make ourselves at home.
The fact that both stays occur during Chapter 4 (as our Expedition is winding down) is serendipitous, as both lend themselves exceedingly well to evenings of celebration, reflection, and rest.
Wilderness Refuges (1 night)

In our minds, the best accommodations are paradoxical by nature—tasked with offering both a safe haven from the world outside and an intimate glimpse into it.
Perhaps not so coincidentally, that perfectly describes the lone, iconic wilderness refuge where we’ll spend a night during the Expedition.
Nestled between springs and creeks atop a high plateau, far from civilization, it’s the most basic structured shelter we’ll use (think: roof, walls, front door, and restroom)—and perhaps the most profound.
(It’s also quite photogenic.)
If you like your accommodations with stories and soul, you’ll love it.
Resorts (1 nights)

You can’t tell the Story of Brazil without touching on its socioeconomic contrasts.
Wilderness shelters, historic inns, and rural homestays each offer a window—but so do a few nights of (decidedly rural) Brazilian-style opulence.
Enter Santa Bárbara: a historic textile mill turned hot springs resort “town,” nestled deep in the Sertão. With swimming pools, gourmet pubs, poolside bars, photogenic (if lukewarm) hot springs, and a resplendent waterfall, it’s as much an experience as it is a place—and honestly, it’s unmissable as both.
There’s a lot to take in, and we’ll be grateful to try our best during the evening of Day 9 and the morning of Day 10.

Where we sleep on crossings

What we eat

Food & Fire

Tropeiro. Torresmo. Frango com quiabo.

If you’re unfamiliar with comida mineira, you will be by the end of the Expedition—and Brazilians everywhere will be jealous.

There’s nothing quite like arriving famished at a kitchen table after a long day in the Espinhaço. Rice, beans, angu, seasonal vegetables, and locally raised meats arrive in generous helpings, often prepared in seasoned cast-iron pots over wood-fired stoves.

Mornings bring their own pleasures: homemade pão de queijo and other simple baked goods, fresh juice, strong coffee, and—because this is Minas Gerais—beloved artisanal cheeses (whose traditional methods of production earned UNESCO recognition in 2024).

In the backcountry, meals become small productions of their own. The cook may be in charge, but everyone finds a way to contribute, whether passing the salt, fanning the coals, shining a light, or circulating the cachaçinha. The fare is simpler—rustic tropeiro-style suppers or churrasco over the fire—but the setting is hard to beat.

On a handful of nights of the Expedition, we’ll find ourselves with menus, where gourmet burgers, Brazilian pub grub, and more sophisticated takes on comida mineira become options. The truth is, we enjoy a well-set dining room as much as anyone—we just happen to enjoy eating beside the river, too.

Most of us abandon our weight-loss goals early on.

It’s worth it.

Bom apetite!

What we eat on crossings →

Crew

Owls & Masters (→)

Eddie

Expedition Leader + Country Guide + Translator (Full-Time)
The bumper sticker on his ’89 Toyota Bandeirante (Brazilian Land Cruiser) may read “Lost Texan”, but don’t be fooled: Dallas-born Eddie has dedicated himself to the study of Brazilian history, society, and geography since arriving with a surfboard and $800 in 2002.
He first found his way to the Espinhaço in 2018 and has spent the years since documenting its unforgettable characters and labyrinth of forgotten trails.
The only thing he enjoys more than exploring this remarkable and little-known part of the world is bringing it to life for travelers who want to experience and understand it, not just pass through.
Elisa

Expedition Leader + Country Guide +Translator (Full-Time)
The first time Elisa encountered the daunting “roads” of São Gonçalo do Rio das Pedras during a weekend getaway in 2019, she swore to her mom she would never come back.
These days, she can’t seem to leave the Espinhaço, having spent the better part of her life since then driving all manner of backroads in a gangly leaf-sprung 4x4 named “Gaucha”—usually with various drones, satellite devices, emergency contacts, and communications equipment in tow.
Bringing itineraries of this scope to life in this part of the world requires determination, planning, communication, patience, and the kind of vision that sees adventure where others see obstacles. The rest of us just require Elisa.
Júlio

Regional Guide + Naturalist (Full-Time)
The difference between a good guide and a great one is calling. In Júlio’s case, there was never a question.
Deeply knowledgeable, energetic, and committed to the places he works in, he brings both his experience in the mountains and his degree in Geography to every journey.
When the brush is thick, snakes abound, the light is fading, and there are still kilometers ahead, there’s no one we’d rather have beside us.
Xaxau

Overland Driver (Full-Time)
The eldest son of Diamantina’s most celebrated 4x4 family, Xaxau carries himself with a quiet confidence that comes from knowing exactly what he’s doing. One of the region’s most seasoned mechanics and welders, he’s also an expert rider of horses, motorcycles, and—lucky for us—vintage 4x4s.
You’ll see Xaxau and Gaúcha during long overland crossings, but it’s the moments when you don’t see him—driving parallel to our route somewhere out beyond the horizon—that put us most at ease. In the unlikely event of an emergency, there’s no one we’d rather have nearby.
Perón

Overland Driver (Full-Time)
Perón drives just about anything that moves—jeeps, trucks, boats, motorcycles—and has spent decades fixing them all. His knowledge of the Cerrado and its inhabitants runs just as deep. He’s also an accomplished fisherman, and (as you might expect) a gifted storyteller.
When Michel first told us about his vivacious, history-loving uncle, we couldn’t wait to meet him. What we found was one of the kindest, most deeply respectful, and most reliable men in the range—and a perfect fit for this crew.
You'll see plenty of Perón throughout the crossing, whether on overland sections, at camp, or waiting for us at the end of a long day.
Michel

Support Driver (Full-Time)
A year abroad in Australia showed Michel the power of travel, and convinced him that his hometown of Diamantina deserved to be rediscovered. Since then, he’s become one of the most renowned photographers in the Espinhaço, documenting the region’s people and everyday life.
On our crew, Michel brings that same perspective—along with his fluency in English, his love of cultura mineira, and a natural ability to connect people to the place around them.
There are worse ways to spend a long drive through the backlands than listening to Michel talk about the place he calls home.
André

Support Driver (Full-Time)
A soft-spoken motorcycle enthusiast from Diamantina’s most celebrated family of 4x4 mechanics, André combines small-town roots with a love for the wider world. He’s a devoted P.E. teacher in the region, but it’s his instinctive feel for vehicles and terrain—and his dirt bike skills—that brought him onto our crew.
As the motorcycle rescue driver, his presence runs quietly alongside the route. If you see him on the trail, don’t panic. You’re already being taken care of.
Santo

Local Guide + Mule Driver
A local legend on par with the mountain that towers above his home, Santo spent decades driving mules from the quilombola hamlet of Bica d’Agua to Diamantina and back as one of the Espinhaço’s last tropeiros.
Today, he’s best known for receiving and guiding those who make the crossing from Bica d’Água to Chapada do Couto.
Stoic and hardened, yet soft-spoken and graceful, his backcountry skills are unmatched—and his camp grub isn’t half bad either.
Our crossing through the highlands brings us to Santo’s doorstep, where Dona Maria’s wood-fired stove is the stuff of regional lore.
Marcos

Herbalist + Local Guide
A journalist by training and a farmer by practice, Marcos has spent more than three decades working with medicinal plants.
Despite the depth of his knowledge, he returns again and again to what he calls the “simple”—small practices that, in his experience, remain the most effective.
On the trail, he moves easily between stories and plants, drawing from years of travel through the Cerrado and a lifelong habit of paying attention.
We'll have the privilege of walking alongside him through the serra above São Gonçalo do Rio das Pedras.
Genésio

Local Guide
On expeditions, as in life, you want resilient, kind-hearted people beside you—people who’ve done it themselves and want to see you succeed.
Genésio is one of them.
A Park Ranger from a family of Itambé guardians, he knows the mountain better than anyone. We'll have the pleasure of walking alongside him on the slopes of Itambé.
Deco

Herbalist + Local Guide
Raised in what is now Rio Preto State Park, Deco knows the landscape in a way that could only come from a lifetime spent inside of it.
A self-taught expert in the flora of the Cerrado, he can name nearly every plant in sight—in Latin—and usually has a story to go with it.
On the trail, he’s all movement and conversation. You'll get to see for yourself as the expedition makes its way through Rio Preto State Park.
Barbosa

Local Guide
Humble, self-educated, and full of stories, Barbosa grew up in a tiny quilombola village where money was unheard of and diamonds flowed through the sand.
Together with his late wife, Lúcia, he helped bring visibility to Inhaí—its history, its people, and its place within the region. Today, he carries that work forward, sharing both the stories of the community and the landscape that shaped it.
We'll have the privilege of hearing those stories firsthand as we cross the eastern borderlands of Sempre Vivas.
Gomercindo

Local Guide + Boatman
Gracious and soft-spoken, yet adventurous and lighthearted, Gomercindo knows the river like a second home.
A former miner turned farmer, he’s spent his life along the banks of the Inhacica Grande—a river as pristine as it is little known.
As the expedition takes to the water, he'll be beside us, part guide and part guardian.
Deraldo

Boatman + Porter
In a region long defined by beans and corn, Deraldo went a different direction: broccoli.
His harvests have reshaped regional school lunches—and local thinking. A lifelong resident of the Inhacicão, he knows the river intimately, and runs one of the few working outboards in the region.
As we navigate the eastern boarderlands of Sempre Vivas, chances are he’ll be at the helm.
Levi

Local Guide
The lone resident of a remote ranch deep in one of the wildest corners of the Cerrado, Levi is a living legend in the borderlands.
A full day’s walk from his nearest neighbor, he lives a life few can fathom—self-reliant, solitary, and deeply tied to the land.
Reaching him is a journey. Listening to his stories is the reward.
Esdra

Porter
Despite growing up along the Inhacicão, Esdra had never hiked with a pack or seen the mountaintop fields where his father, Gomerindo, was raised.
That changed in 2024, when he joined us on an expedition as a last-minute porter. He carried more than expected—and came back for more.
We'll be grateful for that enthusiasm and resilience as the crossing climbs into the high savannah of Sempre Vivas.
Tau

Local Guide + Horseman
Born and raised in Curimataí, Tau spent years navigating life in Belo Horizonte before returning to the Espinhaço to pursue something quieter.
Today, he and his wife Gilma run our favorite pousada west of Sempre Vivas—where we’re always happy to sleep, and especially to eat, when the route allows.
Equal parts outdoorsman, bon vivant, and natural host, Tau will ride alongside those who choose to travel the sunlit roads of the Sertão by saddle.
Alvimar

Local Guide + Horseman
A stoic cowboy with the instincts of a guardian, Alvimar battles wildfires in the backcountry of Sempre Vivas in his spare time, and knows the Park’s western frontier as well as anyone.
These days, he lives a quieter life on his ranch north of Curimataí—but when the call comes, he still rides.
We'll have the pleasure of riding alongside him as the expedition descends toward the western lowlands.
Pê

Local Guide + Horseman
Cool, confident, and naturally charismatic, Pê has been guiding and hosting our crew in the high western campos since the very beginning.
Raised in the one-family outpost of Santa Rita, he served multiple tours as a park firefighter before returning to ranch life full-time. Today, he’s known across the region for his horsemanship.
We'll spend time with Pê in Santa Rita as the crossing moves through the western lowlands.
Dorico

Local Guide + Horseman
One of the last remaining residents of Sempre Vivas, Dorico lives alone at the foot of Serra da Gambá, walking an hour each way to the village of Macacos.
Soft-spoken and gracious, with a lightness that belies his solitude, he carries the history of the highlands in the way he moves.
Few people know the Rio Preto Valley better. Crossing it in his company is a privilege.
João

Local Guide + Horseman
Like many of his generation from São João da Chapada, João left home in search of opportunity, living and working for years in São Paulo, Paraguay, and beyond. Unlike most, he returned.
Well-traveled and full of stories, he brings both experience and presence to the trail.
As the expedition moves through some of the lesser-known corners of the range, you'll understand why we value his company.

Meet the full crew

Questions? We’re here if you want to talk it through.

Talk with Eddie →

What’s Included

Beds, meals, mules, and the crew to get you across

All accommodations are included.
Across the crossing, we move between pousadas, homes, wilderness campsites, simple refuges, and occasional more comfortable stays, all as the route requires.
All breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and daily trail snacks are included.
Meals range from campfire dinners in the backcountry to long tables in village homes, roadside stops, and more celebratory evenings after hard days on the trail.
Food in the Espinhaço is simple, generous, and deeply tied to life in the range.
All ground and river transportation within Brazil is included, from arrival to departure.
This includes overland vehicles, support 4×4s, pack animals, river crossings, and the occasional rough road deep in the interior.
Each Expedition is led by Elisa and I, supported by drivers, guides, horsemen, boatmen, and local specialists from across the range.
Support remains unusually high for a group this size, especially during longer wilderness stretches and more logistically demanding sections of the crossing.
[Meet the Crew →]
We provide all group and expedition gear, including camping equipment, kitchen setup, water filtration, and safety systems.
You’re welcome to bring your own gear if you prefer, especially items you already know and trust on the trail.
All required permits, park entries, and local permissions are included and arranged in advance.
We travel with support vehicles, satellite communication systems, first-aid equipment, and established safety protocols for remote travel in the range.
Crew members remain in contact throughout the expedition.
We’ll help you prepare for the expedition with dedicated calls, planning guidance, and ongoing communication before departure.
You’ll receive a detailed expedition dossier before departure, along with a small set of practical items during and after the trip.

Dispatches from the backlands

Cerrado & mata. Burton & Saint-Hilaire. Roads, rivers, and the pleasures of life in the backlands.

In 1867, English explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton crossed these same highlands and documented them in his seminal Explorations of the Highlands of the Brazil. More than a century later, much of the range remains remarkably close to what he found.
During the early decades of the Empire of Brazil, a wave of European naturalists moved through the Espinhaço, drawn by diamonds, botany, and the allure of Brazil’s interior. Among them were Burton and the French naturalist Augustin de Saint-Hilaire, whose journeys through the range left lasting marks on both science and story.
Saint-Hilaire’s contributions were botanical and foundational. Over years of travel in Brazil, he collected thousands of specimens and produced some of the earliest systematic descriptions of the Cerrado’s vegetation. His work remains central to the scientific understanding of Brazil’s biodiversity.
Burton, by contrast, traveled with a diplomat’s title and a writer’s appetite. Stationed as British consul in Santos, he pushed inland out of curiosity as much as duty, chronicling geography, commerce, and the people he encountered along the way. His accounts of the Espinhaço remain animated by close attention to daily life, convivial evenings, and what he called the “pleasures of life in the backwoods.”
Our crossings retrace portions of the terrain these men once moved through: the same rivers, high plateaus, roads, and settlements that continue to shape life in the range today.
The context has changed. The mountains have not.
The Amazon grabs the headlines, but Brazil’s ecological story stretches far beyond the rainforest. Two of the country’s most important biomes meet in the Espinhaço: the Cerrado and the Atlantic Rainforest.
Trailing only the Amazon in size, the Cerrado is the most biodiverse tropical savannah on the planet, home to thousands of species of plants, birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, fish, and insects—many found nowhere else.
The Atlantic Forest, meanwhile, contains some of the highest levels of biodiversity and endemism on earth.
The Espinhaço sits between these worlds. Grasslands give way to riparian forest, wetlands, quartzite outcrops, and dense pockets of mata atlântica. In the overlap lies the campos rupestres: a rocky, flower-strewn ecosystem found almost exclusively within the range itself.
The Expedition moves repeatedly between these landscapes over two continuous weeks of travel.
The Serra do Espinhaço contains a remarkable concentration of protected land: nineteen conservation units spanning nearly two million acres across the highlands.
Together, these areas form the Espinhaço Mosaic (Mosaico do Espinhaço), a vast network of parks, environmental protection areas, and ecological corridors spread across the range.
We’ll spend time in eight of the Mosaic’s conservation units during the crossing, including:
- Sempre Vivas National Park
- The State Parks of Biribiri, Rio Preto, and Itambé
- The Águas Vertentes State Environmental Protection Area
- The Municipal Environmental Protection Areas of Rio Manso and Serra de Minas
- The Várzea do Lajeado e Serra do Raio State Natural Monument
There’s a saying among garimpeiros in the Espinhaço that “All stones look like diamonds, but diamonds don’t look like any other stone.”
The same might be said of Sempre Vivas National Park, a vast stretch of high savannah deep in the western reaches of the range.
Spanning more than 1,200 km², but home to just a handful of full-time residents, Sempre Vivas feels increasingly removed from the modern world: overgrown trails, disappearing roads, palm-lined wetlands, quartzite plateaus, and long stretches where the only movement comes from wind, water, wildlife, and the expedition itself.
We’ll spend five days in and around the Park during the crossing, including a westward traverse through the Rio Preto River Valley and a remote crossing of the plateau above it.
We don’t expect to encounter other travelers on the trail.
Serra is a word you’ll hear often throughout the Expedition.
Its most common translation is “saw,” as in a serrated blade, but here in the Espinhaço the word takes on a broader meaning: mountain, range, ridge, highlands, uplands.
Our crossing begins in the serra (highlands), but temporarily leaves the mountains behind when we descend westward from Sempre Vivas into the sertão lowlands on Day 8.
Across much of Brazil, Sertão(capitalized) refers to the semi-arid hinterlands of the Northeast: a landscape associated with drought, distance, heat, and hard living.
In the Espinhaço, however, sertão (lowercase) is often a specific reference to the agrarian lowlands west of the range. Here, even the sertão remains green, lined with waterfalls, riparian forest, and fresh water flowing down from the mountains.
The crossing moves through both worlds.
Before diamonds, flowers, or tourism, the Espinhaço was—and remains—a story about water.
Several of Brazil’s most important river systems begin in the range, including the Jequitinhonha, Doce, and São Francisco. Tributaries, marshes, creeks, springs, waterfalls, and flooded veredas (palm oases) shape nearly every part of life here.
Water defines the Expedition as well. River crossings, waterfalls, wetlands, bogs, and long stretches beside flowing water appear throughout the route, especially in and around Sempre Vivas.
Seasonality changes the character of the range dramatically. Summer storms swell rivers and saturate the landscape. Winter brings dry trails, cold nights, and low water. Spring returns flowers and flowing streams to the high savannah.
Few places in Brazil feel more visibly shaped by water than the Espinhaço.
The Espinhaço carries a dense oral history, much of it draped in myth and retold in fragments.
Stories circulate of miners who vanished with their finds, ranchers killed in improbable encounters, children raised in caves, and fortunes won and lost by river. Some of these accounts are documented. Many are not.
They travel the way goods once did: by mule, memory, and repetition, around kitchen tables and roadside bars, during card games and late-night meals, shifting slightly with each retelling.
We’ll hear some of these stories during the crossing. Carrying them forward is part of the tradition.

The Rearview

14 days of motion, dust, and the highlands of Brazil

224 km on foot

290 km of backroads

8 conservation units

20 communities

18+ waterfalls

3 peaks

3 UNESCO sites

6 travelers (maximum)

3,000+ species of plants

Calendar & Pricing

The Highlands of Brazil

April 26 – May 09, 2027 | 14 days

One departure annually

$16,995 per person

Includes all crew, lodging, meals, permits, equipment, support vehicles, pack animals, and river & ground transportation.

Thinking about joining this departure?
Hold my place →

Prefer to talk it through?
Talk with Eddie →

Considering 2028 or beyond?
Talk with Eddie →

Odds & Ends

Prerequisites

prior trekking and/or outdoor experience is strongly recommended, but not required.
All applicants must undergo a complete physical examination and receive written approval from their physician within 3 months of the Expedition.

Travel Insurance

Proof of adequate medical & emergency travel insurance is required before joining the Expedition. Details are available in our Terms & Conditions. We’re happy to talk you through the details if needed.

What’s Not Included

Airfare
Medical & emergency evacuation insurance (minimum required)
Trip cancellation or other travel insurance
Visas
Any meal or activity not outlined in the itinerary
Alcoholic beverages
Gratuities (tips &/or community donations)

getting there & away

We’re happy to recommend travel arrangements to and from our rendezvous point in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Please note that Gift of Go does not book international flights on behalf of travelers.

CONNECTIVITY NOTES

3G, 4G & 5G signals (in that order) are widely available across the Espinhaço frontcountry, where we will spend the majority of our evenings & mornings. Those signals are sporadic in the backcountry, however, where we’ll spend the majority of our days. Your connectivity will depend largely on your carrier & plan; if you’d like, we can provide you with a Brazilian SIM card upon your arrival. WiFi is available at many of our accommodations during the mornings & evenings of the Expedition.

Additional Reading

A Flower & A Way of Life in Peril — Scientific American

Life on the rocks in Brazil’s Campo Rupestre — the guardian

Explorations of the highlands of Brazil — Sir richard burton

Brazilian Diamonds: A Historical & Recent Perspective — Gems & Gemology, Spring 2017 Vol. LIII

The Espinhaço Range Biosphere Reserve — UNESCO

Globally important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) Proposal — CODECEX

[Contact us if you’d like to talk through any of the details.]

Proofs of Life (→)

Photographs from Past Expeditions

$Xaxau loading camping gear onto Gaúcha's roofrack at sunset at Fazenda Lamarão, Sempre Vivas National Park$

FAQs

Have a question we haven’t answered?
Reach out or explore our FAQ page.

We've done similar crossings alongside enthusiastic first-timers who did remarkably well, and with seasoned travelers who struggled. A lot comes down to mindset, resilience, and how your body responds to consecutive days on the move.
That said, this is a physically demanding 14-day expedition. You should be comfortable carrying a 10–20 lb (5–10 kg) pack for multiple days, averaging around 20 kilometers with significant elevation gain and loss. The terrain is rugged and varied—not especially high, but often overgrown, sun-exposed, and crossed by streams, bogs, and riverbeds.
What makes this crossing different is its pace and variety. You'll move between trail, saddle, vehicle, and river travel throughout the expedition, sometimes within the same day. The rhythm is fast, and the days are full.
For many travelers, things settle in as the trip goes on. Others feel the accumulation.
If you're unsure, speak with your physician or trainer before applying. A signed Bill of Good Health is required.
If you'd like to talk it through, we're happy to help.
We travel with a full support structure and remain in close communication throughout the crossing.
If you're tired or dealing with a minor issue, there are often ways to adjust while remaining part of the expedition.
If something more serious comes up, we'll implement our evacuation plan and get you to appropriate medical care as quickly and safely as possible.
We cross through a wide variety of landscapes and communities during this expedition, and the places we stay reflect that.
During the crossing, we move between rural pousadas, wilderness campsites, backcountry refuges, private homes, and the occasional more comfortable reset built into the route.
Each place is chosen for where it sits and how it contributes to the experience.
No two are quite alike.
Food is part of the story—and part of the pleasure.
Most meals are shared in local homes, pousadas, or small-town restaurants. Expect hearty comida mineira: simple, generous, and deeply tied to the region.
The meals tend to reflect the movement of the crossing. Some are quick and practical. Others are the star of the evening, unfolding around a campfire, at a family table, or in the occasional more refined setting.
If you have dietary needs, we'll plan for them in advance.
Signal is available during most mornings and evenings of the expedition, whether in town or at our accommodations. On the trail, it's limited.
We carry satellite communication equipment for emergencies.
Nearly everything.
Accommodations, meals, crew, ground transfers to and from the rendezvous point, transportation within the range, permits, and group trail gear are all included.
Flights, insurance, personal gear, alcohol, and discretionary spending are not.
We do, but not within this format.
For shorter or more flexible trips, take a look at our Bespoke expeditions. If you're traveling solo and drawn to a more open-ended crossing, Journeys may be a better fit.
All Expeditions are booked on a first-come, first-served basis.
With small group sizes and limited departures each year, we recommend reaching out as early as you feel comfortable, especially if your dates are fixed.

At a Glance

What to Expect

What Not to Expect

Activity Level

Biomes

Dates (2027)

Best For

Riding through the Hinterlands

The Mosaic

Pico do Itambé

Backroading

Paddling the Inhacicão

Exploring Sempre Vivas

Curimataí, heartbreaker

Backcountry Nights

Trés Chic Santa Bárbara

Her Majesty, Santa Rita

Quartel do Indaiá

Mystical Conselheiro Mata

Waterfalls

Telêsforo

Far-flung Santa Rita

Biribiri

The City of Diamonds

A Night for the Ages

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14

Setting

Route

Homestays (2 nights)

Pousadas (4 nights)

Wilderness Campsites (3 nights)

Private Homes (2 nights)

Wilderness Refuges (1 night)

Resorts (1 nights)

What we eat

Eddie

Elisa

Júlio

Xaxau

Perón

Michel

André

Santo

Marcos

Genésio

Deco

Barbosa

Gomercindo

Deraldo

Levi

Esdra

Tau

Alvimar

Pê

Dorico

João

What’s Included

Accommodations

Meals

Transportation

Personnel

Equipment

Permits & Access

Safety & Support

Preparation

Pre & Post-Expedition

Dispatches from the backlands

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