Chapada Diamantina part 2

We had asked about the route directly from Lencois to Andarai, which is 33 km off road instead of going around on the paved road 85 km. We were told it was a very bad road and so of course we had to do it. It is not on the GPS of course as it is really more of a 4×4 track, which is perfect for quads or mountain bikes.

Initially it is a dirt path, but there are some rocky steep up and down sections.

There are lots of water crossings, but only a few are real rivers.

We did come across a deadly coral snake and I was stupid enough to try to get a close up shot.

About 2/3 of the way it starts to get sandy and the road is deepish sand in parts. About ¾ of the way there is a river crossing with several hundred meter of deep sand. Luckily there is a nice waterfall and swimming spot here to cool off.

After the last river crossing there was about a km of deep sand to navigate and then suddenly you’re back on a nice dirt track, which dumps you on the paved road a few km from the town.

From here you continue south 40 km to the dirt road and 25 km east to Poco Encantado.

This is a cave with a large opening letting light shine on the mineral pool inside, which creates a striking blue color. To see this you hike 80 meters down into the cave.

The pool is 41-68 meters deep and the “beach” is bat guano.

Then we had to back track 140 km on the paved road towards Lencois. Just 10 km past the road to Lencois is a small restaurant; where there is parking to access the Poco do Diabo. This is a small falls with a nice swimming hole.