An unfathomably large (New Jersey-sized) swath of protected wonderland gushing with green mountain vistas, white sand waterfalls, cola-colored rivers, one of the highest concentrations of species endemism on the planet, and a tantalizing lost network of historic trails… with virtually no tourism.

Welcome to the spectacular, undiscovered Mosaic of the Espinhaco: 19 adjacent conservation units (including a National Park, multiple State Parks, and Municipal Parks, and other reserves) totalling 5 million acres of protected Cerrado (Brazilian Savannah) & Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Rainforest), with little to no tourism infrastructure.

For lovers of nature, culture, history, outdoor sports, and (let’s just say it) life itself, this is the stuff of dreams.

It’s difficult to overstate just how rich the Espinhaço is in terms of biodiversity. The range accounts for less than 1% of Brazil’s national territory, yet is thought to contain over 7% of its species, including an estimated 3,000+ endemic plants & animals.

Unfortunately, the Cerrado (one of the 2 larger terrestrial biomes to which the Espinhaço Meridional belongs) is being deforested at a rate more than double that of the Amazon, and has experienced a pronounced decline in rainfall during recent decades. Enjoy it while it’s here, like this, right now.

Getting from point A to Point B has always been an adventure in the Espinhaço, and nowhere is this more evident than along its spectacular—and viturally empty—network of historic trails. 3 types of trails predominate the backcountry here: remarkable, colonial-era stone pathways built by slaves to facilitate the diamond trade along the Estrada Real; an extensive network of bush trails pioneered by mule-driving tropeiros to facilitate regional commerce; and centuries-old descaminhos blazed by diamond smugglers and later revisited by 18th century naturalists (including Richard Francis Burton & Augustin Saint-Hilaire).

Our team has spent 3 years rediscovering this lost network, documenting its history, nature & inhabitants, and charting our expeditions. As much as we’ve loved having the trails to ourselves, it’s an even greater pleasure to share them with other curious, adventurous minds.

UNESCO World Heritage City; Terminus of the fabled Estrada Real; Bastion of Portuguese colonial architecture; former diamond-mining capital of the world; and shining exemplar of the “diamond in the rough” cliché. Somehow, little Diamantina (pop. 49,500) manages to be all this and more (burgeoning college town; “musical city of Minas”; hometown of Juscelino Kubisheck and Chica da Silva; etc.), while remaining virtually undiscovered even by mineiros. Add it all up, and you have a bonafide world traveler’s dream: a tourist mecca without tourists, smack in the middle of one of the most enchanting settings on earth.

Take it from us: Attempting to count the waterfalls of the Espinhaço is an exercise in futility. Just as futile: trying to spend consecutive days on the trail without bathing in one. We’ll cross paths with at least 29 (and as many as 36) named falls during our Expedition, from soothing cascades to show-stopping masterpieces, and everything in between. “Ice-cold” has never felt so good.

The region’s undisputed icon, Pico do Itambé (elev. 2,052 m) towers over the region like a citadel, living up to its billing as “the roof of the Espinhaço”. Protruding over 1,102 meters over the surrounding peaks, it draws a hard line between the Rio Jequitinhonha & Rio Doce river basins and a soft line between the Atlantic Rainforest & Cerrado biomes. Taking in the views after a challenging climb (on Day 6) is one of the most satisfying & memorable moments of our journey, as is the golden hour descent. And then there’s the wild night hike that follows…

Tropeiro. Torresmo. Frango com quiabo. If you’re unfamiliar with comida mineira, you will be by the end of the trip—and Brazilians everywhere will be jealous. Among the culinary treats unique to the Serra do Espinhaço: angu, quitanda, samambaia, and queijo do Serro.

We’ll have the privilege of arriving to piping hot plates of highly-caloric, lovingly-made meals—prepared by skilled hands & well-seasoned cast-iron pots over wood-fired stoves—throughout our Expedition, with a pair of more sophisticated offerings in Diamantina to book-end the trip. Throw in a few ice-cold Antarcticas (one of the more popular national beer labels) and, well, let’s just say we rarely meet our weight-loss goals during trips. It’s worth it. Bom apetit!

Larger than Greater Los Angeles, with less than a dozen residents, thousands of endemic species, and no tourist infrastructure to speak of, Sempre Vivas National Park is, without exaggeration, one of the wildest & most enchanting places in Brazil.

We’ll have the privilege of spending 8 full, long days trekking, boating, and bushwhacking our way across the Park, from the lush veredas along the eastern border to the wind-swept campos of the west, sleeping in caves, flower-picker shelters, and hauntingly isolated ranches along the way.

Pointy grasses, ticks, snakes (including several deadly species), and lack of shade are harsh realities of the trail here—as are large felines. If you’re wondering what the big difference is between DWTLT & ADT (our 21-day trek in the Espinhaço), our time in Sempre Vivas accounts for much of it.

Few places on earth manage to feel this magical, this wild, and this overlooked. Each day in the Park is an adventure, each moment a privilege.

Pristine, majestic, and appropriately daunting to get to, Santa Rita Waterfall marks the grand western entrance to Sempre Vivas NP, and to the western slopes of the Espinhaço, in general.

Known to only a handful of folks on the planet—nearly all of whom lived or worked in the surrounding area—prior to the Pandemic, the falls continue to be more of a rumor than an attraction thanks to the lack of an easily-navigable trail and/or climbing ropes.

We’ll need to engage in a pair of brief, optional climbs to reach the base & come back up again. The view, alone, makes the excursion worth it, but the swim (water level permitting) takes it to a whole new level. Vamo que vamo!

The namesake flower of Sempre Vivas National Park is as inextricably linked to the history, economy, and identity of the Serra do Espinhaço as the diamonds that sustained the region before it. Sixty of the estimated 100 species in existence have been documented within the Park’s borders—eight of which are found no place else on earth. With enchanting shapes that range from tiny buttons & stars to tree-like stalks with giant globes, “flower-spotting” has a way of making even the most arduous days on the trail joyous. We dare you not to get excited each time we pass one up close.

The trails will challenge us, and the peaks & 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 & memorable moments of our Expedition. It’s impossible to come away unimpressed by the foreign, often rustic conditions, and resilient, welcoming disposition of each of the many households we’ll visit.

As if good company, unique accommodations, and home-cooked meals weren’t reason enough to embrace the experience, there’s this: 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 & natural environment, making each homestay all the more special.

We’ll be staying in an incredibly diverse array of unique & memorable places during our Expedition, from historic inns and fancy resorts, to picturesque mountain refuges and pristine wilderness campsites. We’re willing to bet that it will be the homestays that cross your mind daily years from now.

Pousadas & charming homestays connect us to culture & history, but it wouldn’t be a GOGO trip without at least one night in the middle of nowher—er, the middle of nature. We prefer starry nights, soft sand, warm fires, & gently rolling streams, but we gladly settle for the silence of the mountains. With 4-5 nights of wilderness camping on the itinerary, we’re hoping for all of it.

If you’ve ever dreamed of steadying a sturdy steed through the brush, rivers, and rocky mountain passes of the Brazilian hinterlands, Day 7 is your chance: our epic traverse of the steep & spectacular Mato dos Crioulos region can be done on either foot or horseback. Prefer to gallop? Chapter III beckons, with back-to-back afternoons (Days 16 & 17) of optional riding along open dirt roads between glorious, sun-kissed waterfalls.

Regardless of whose hooves are moving, we recommend you catch your breath, take in the scenery, and immerse in the region’s long & storied tradition of tropeirismo and cavalgadas.

Minas Gerais is Brazil’s heartland, and mineiros (the state’s denizens) play the part of heartland hosts to a “T”. Easy-going, down-to-earth, and famously chatty, with a well-documented love of food (especially comida mineira, of course) & drink (some of Brazil’s best cachaça & craft brews come from Minas), mineiros are to “friendly” what paulistas (residents of São Paulo) are to “fast-paced” and cariocas (folks from Rio) are to “care-free”. Generally speaking, you won’t find a kinder or more welcoming bunch anywhere in Brazil.

It doesn’t matter how you get there or from which direction you come, the Serra da Maravilha (literally, Marvelous Mountain) is a sight to behold. Strikingly similar to Rio’s Sugarloaf Mountain—but with 1,000,000 less visitors per year—the postcard-perfect mountain and tiny hamlet of the same name (pop. < 10) are little known even in the immediate region. We’ll have the privilege of taking in the scene from a variety of angles during our epic journey on Day 3.

The incomparable “vila” of Santa Bárbara is full of contradictions. A bonafide oasis (replete with hot springs, swimming pools, crystalline creeks, and a resplendent waterfall) in the middle of the dusty Sertão? A partially restored historic textile mill that doubles as a chic hot springs resort town? A chic hot springs resort town featuring “chalets” that look like (and, in fact, are) decadent former employee homes?

Quirky, a little unorganized, and more than a little self-important—yet undeniably gorgeous & gostoso—Santa Bárbara is as much of an experience as it is a place, and honestly, its unmissable & unforgettable as both. There’s a lot to take in, and we’ll be exceedingly grateful to try our best during back-to-back nights (Days 17 & 18), including one of our Expedition’s two Rest Days.

The region’s first & most celebrated conservation unit, Rio Preto State Park harbors over 26,000 acres of immaculate cerrado, including a pristine stretch of its namesake river & a pair of striking waterfalls.

We’ll spend 3 glorious days (Days 7, 8, and 9)—including our first Rest Day—traversing the Park, from its hauntingly beautiful (and little-visited) southern reaches to its spectacular, water-blessed north, passing along sweeping canyons, steep escarpments, fast-moving rivers, funky hoodoos, and all manner of rocky outcrops along the way. If it weren’t for the flowing fields of campo limpo and sparkling groves of sempre-vivas, you might swear we were in the U.S. Southwest.

It’s is a feast for the senses, and the perfect place to conclude our all-star stretch at the end of Chapter I.

Come for the mythical waterfall, stay for… the gentle breeze rolling over the pastures? We’re not sure what it is about tiny Santa Rita (pop. 12?) that makes it linger on our minds, but whatever it is, we can’t seem to get enough.

Cast away on an impossibly privileged patch of windswept, high-altitude campos between the mountains of the Espinhaço and the sweltering lowlands below, this remote ranching outpost inhabited by a clan of likable, hard-drinking cattlefolk is either the beginning of the sertão or the last stand of the Espinhaço… or both.

The peaks & Parks get more glory, but nothing shaped this region or brought more fortune & glory more than the rivers that run through it, and none more so than the Jequitinhonha. Solemn yet dignified even after centuries of callous abuse, the river’s crystalline waters once ran rich enough with gemstones to both buoy a distant Empire and cradle a young nation. Today, irreparably scarred & forgotten, it remains forgiving enough to provide an economic lifeline for 500,000 Brazilians living downstream.

In theory, we’ll cross enough rivers, creeks, and streams during our trek for it to “get old”, but there’s something about gazing on the Jequitinonha from its banks, then stepping into it, that will always be special.

Located just a stone’s throw (and a wild hair?) away from 50,000 lively residents, with 42,000 acres of lush cerrado, dozens of miles of well-kept trails, a pair of highly Instagrammable (and swimmable) waterfalls, and a historic textile mill-turned-gated community of the same name, it’s no wonder that Biribiri State Park is the most visited conservation unit in the Espinhaco. While its location adjacent to Diamantina can make the Park (& its pub) a bit of a hotspot for locals during weekends & holidays, the vast majority of visitors tend to stick to the road & roadside waterfalls, meaning there’s a good chance we’ll have one last day (Day 27) of gloriously empty trails before making our descent into Diamantina.

Historic yet modern, urban yet rural, rustic yet comfortable, and surrounded by agua, serra, and cerrado, the community of Biribiri is an unbeatable place to spend the penultimate night of our journey, and our final evening on the trail together.

No place embodies the deeply paradoxical existence of Sempre Vivas National Park better than the decadent main residence of Fazenda Arrenegado (literally, Forsaken Ranch). Cast away in one of the most inhospitable stretches of the Park, and camouflaged by the surrounding vegetation, “Taquaral” has become synonymous with the untamed wilderness, land disputes, and predatory fauna that the Park is known—or rather, unknown—for. Its lone inhabitant for the past 2 decades, Sr. Levi, is a living legend around these parts, and for good reason—at this point in the Expedition, we’ll be about an 8-hour bushwhack away from the next closest human.

The ranch house (not pictured) could use a good cleaning, but we think it’s best appreciated in its natural state. You’ll have a chance to see it for yourself on Day 12. If you’ve never bathed in a horse trough, now’s your chance.

So much about Sempre Vivas is about the journey, the feeling, and the remoteness. It’s fitting then, that even the journey to get there—in our case, a 28-km drive along bucolic dirt roads, followed by a gorgeous 5-km hike and a half-day jon boat ride up one of the Jequitinonha River’s most pristine tributaries—is spectacular.

While there are multiple points of entry (though no official entrance) to the Park, none is more dramatic than the Inhacica Grande River, whose nutrient-rich waters & powder-sand shores comprise the Park’s wild eastern border. Here, amidst the rocks & palms, white sand & birdsong, even Diamantina (a measly—but brutal—3 hours away overland) feels a world away. And yet this is just the starting point for perhaps the most epic stretch of our expedition: a 5-day crossing of Sempre Vivas.

We’ll be sleeping underneath the stars tonight, on soft white sand, next to the fire. Welcome to Chapter II.

There’s “off-roading”, and then there is navigating the often-surreal backroads of the Espinhaço, where sun-scorched dirt roads intersect with rivers, potholes become craters, and harrowing bridges, devastating lombadas, and the occasional white sand beach are all just part of the daily commute.

We won’t be tackling the worst of what the region has to offer during our Expedition (those would be the “roads” of Sempre Vivas, which we’ll prefer to walk this time around, thank you very much), we’re confident you’ll come away with a new appreciation for the roads in your part of the world.

Our vehicle of choice, the legendary Toyota Bandeirante, ensures that our roadtrips in the region are as exhilarating & memorable as our time on the trail. As your captain speaking, we recommend you relax & enjoy the ride.

One of the ironies of summiting mighty Itambé (on Day 6) is that the epic view on top lacks Itambé itself. Meanwhile, just some 20 km away, the much smaller & more approachable Pico do Raio (literally, Lightning Peak; 1,387 meters) presents an unbeatable view of not only Itambé, but of the nearby colonial hamlets of Sao Gonçalo do Rio das Pedras, Milho Verde, and Capivari, as well. When you consider that its base lies on one of the most beautiful stretches of trail in the region and includes a white sand beach, gently flowing waterfall, and natural infinity pool… well, it could at least be argued that the experience gives Itambé a run for its money. You can see for yourself on Day 4.

A dusty, rough-around-the-edges (but only the edges) town that time forgot, Conselheiro Mata (pop. 200) feels like a regional homage to the American Wild West, but its unique residents, fertile soil, and location halfway between Diamantina & the cowboy-cultured sertão makes its cultural identity a bit more murky: is this a (crystal) mining town? A mystic town? Or the beginning of cattle country?

The decision may not be Conselheiro’s to make: the sleepy community is blessed with 7 named waterfalls that range from thunderous (Cachoeira do Trombador) to magical (Cachoeira das Fadas; pictured) to downright world-class (Cachoeira do Telesforo), and “influencers” & Belo Horizontinos have begun taking notice. For our money, Conselheiro is a tourist town—it just doesn’t know it yet.

Nestled tightly against the water-flowing (& water-falling) western edge of the Espinhaco, snuggled gracefully between deep & gentle river bends, unassuming Curimatai (pop. 1,500) is the kind of Place that calls little attention on the itinerary, but lingers on the mind endlessly afterward as a feeling of peace, warmth, and joy.

After 5 days in the harsh conditions of Sempre Vivas, we’ll sop up all of the low-key goodness that we can get: soft pillows; friendly folks; full bellies (oh, the meals!); cold, flowing beverages; and top-notch people-watching from shaded front porches. Even as we saddle up & head south towards greener pastures (and hot springs!), we usually do so with heavy hearts: few places are harder to leave. One thought that helps us get through the heartbreak: you can always come back.

From diamonds & stately architecture to former presidents & raucous Carnaval celebrations, Diamantina has more than its fair share of claims to fame. It’s a bit ironic (and endearing?), then, that its most beloved tradition has become the humble Vesperata, a festive nighttime open-air serenade by the hometown band. (Plot twist: the musicians are the ones up in the windows & on verandas, while those of us getting serenaded are down on the street).

We’ll have the immense privilege of catching a Vesperata on the evening of Day 27. Prepare yourself for an unforgettable evening of Beatles, samba & bossa nova, Musica Popular Brasileira (MPB), and sing-along wedding rock tunes. There isn’t a party on earth where we’d rather celebrate the final night of our Expedition together.