7 Best Sights in Brasilia and the West, Brazil

If you have time, arrange a guided visit to Caverna Aroe Jari, costing about R$45. The cave's name means "home of souls" in the Bororo language. This mile-long sandstone cave (one of Brazil's largest) can be reached after a 5-km (3-mile) hike through the cerrado, or on the back of a tractor.

After navigating the steep and winding MT 251 through breathtaking canyons to reach the top of the mesa, you discover the pretty town of Chapada dos Guimarães, which still retains some of its colonial charm. If you're going to Chapada dos Guimarães around the second fortnight of June, don't miss the Winter Festival, with art and music workshops and various concerts with local artists.

This friendly and efficient travel agency can arrange tours with English-speaking guides to the main sights of the national park and around.

This is a popular agency for arranging a tour guide in the park.

This handsome colonial church (circa 1779) has some exceptional gold-plated interior flourishes.

In 1972 satellite images proved that the continent's true center was not in Cuiabá, where there is an obelisk commemorating the spot, but at Mirante do Centro Geodésico on the mesa's edge. If the geodesic center doesn't hold spiritual meaning for you, come for the fantastic view—on a clear day you can see as far as the Pantanal.

Besides the Pantanal, the areas in and around the Parque Nacional Chapada dos Guimarães are the region's most popular attractions. Traveling northeast of Cuiabá, you see the massive sandstone formations from miles away, rising 3,000 feet above the flat cerrado landscape. Since a fatal rock fall in the park in 2008, some attractions and bathing spots have been closed indefinitely, and all visitors must be accompanied by a guide. The Cachoeira Véu de Noiva (Bridal Veil Falls), with a spectacular 250-foot freefall, is the most impressive of the falls in the park and is just off the main road. Beyond this point you can take guided treks to hills, caves, more falls, and archaeological sites. The Circuito das Cachoeiras (Waterfalls Circuit) is a set of seven waterfalls 3 km (2 miles) from the visitor center.

Walk about 30 minutes beyond the Caverna Aroe Jari to Gruta da Lagoa Azul (Grotto of Blue Lagoon), a crystal clear lagoon (bathing is prohibited). You can also walk along the Vale do Rio Claro (River Claro Valley) and swim in the river's transparent waters, or climb the Morro de São Jerônimo (St. Jerome's Hill), one of the highest points of the Chapada. Entrance to the national park is permitted only with a guide, whom you can hire from an agency in town.