3 MEMORABLE DAYS IN THE VALE DO PATI
Do you like hiking and want to go on a trek that you’ll remember for the rest of your life? So you shouldn’t miss the Vale do Pati trek, located in the Chapada Diamantina national park! Incredible landscapes that you’ll surely not have seen anywhere else in the world. An isolated valley, breathtaking views, magnificent trails, and above all, lots of fun! Does this tempt you? Come on, I’ll take you for 3 days in Vale do Pati in collaboration with Chapada Backpackers. Read until the end, a surprise is waiting for you!
WHAT’S THE PROGRAM OF THE 3 DAYS IN VALE DO PATI - CHAPADA DIAMANTINA?
DAY 1 - 12 KM
So off we go for 3 days of trekking in the Vale do Pati. For this, we meet at 8 a.m. in front of the Chapada Backpackers hostel, close to the city center of Lençóis. The hostel offers you the opportunity to have breakfast at their place before the excursion for BRL 20*. As I didn’t take it, I can’t tell you more about the quality/price. From there, we hop in a Jeep-like car for the hour-long drive to our first stop, Palmeiras. We stop for about fifteen minutes to do some groceries, and for the bank to pay for the excursion in cash, because this allows us to have a small discount. Then, we go in the car again to finally arrive towards Guiné, the start of our hike in the Chapada Diamantina national park. So excited to start this trek which has a very good reputation! The guides divide the food that they’ll prepare for the next 3 days. Allow some space in your bags, as you’re helping them carry your food. Here we go! We start climbing at around 11 a.m. for a good hour on a small path to reach the plain. The view up there is just incredible! We begin to see the immensity of Chapada Diamantina (around 28,000 square kilometers). We walk for about 1 hour on this plaine, without shadows, but almost no difference in altitude, to arrive at the Mirante do Pati viewpoint. And this view of the Vale do Pati… it’s just breathtaking! When we arrived at the viewpoint, I really had this feeling of “wow, this is incredible! » We discover this immense valley of the Chapada Diamantina national park in front of us. Reddish cliffs and green vegetation! The view is magnificent! It’s one of my favorites. This is where we have lunch at around 1:30 p.m. to enjoy this beautiful landscape. After a forty minute break, we descend slowly into the valley for a good hour. The descent is a bit steep and not the easiest. Once arrived in the valley, we continue our path, surrounded by these immense cliffs, the vegetation, and the river. Around 3 p.m., we stop at a hostel to fill our water bottles and take a break. We continue our journey for a good hour, before arriving at several waterfalls, including Cachoeira dos Funis and Cachoeira das Bananeiras. There were all different, some wider and some taller. We bathe in the last big waterfall. At first glance, I have to admit that the color of the water doesn’t make you want it. Locals call it “the color of Coca-Cola” because it’s brown. But this doesn’t mean that the water is dirty, it’s the consequence of its environment (the ground and the rocks). Let’s go have a little splash anyway! The water’s quite cold, but it’s good to cool off! After this swimming break, we walk along the edge of the river, sometimes crossing it on small rocks, to our first accommodation. It’s located in the Chapada Diamantina valley. It’s large, very nice, and a bit rustic. We sleep in a dormitory equipped with a few electrical outlets and 2 bunk beds. Sanitary facilities are shared throughout the hostel. The shower might be cold, but it’s so hot that it feels good! We eat together the dinner that our guides have prepared, before meeting around the fire to contemplate the stars for several hours, and remembering many of the beautiful landscapes that we saw during the day.
DAY 2 - 8 KM
We get up to have a good breakfast at around 8 a.m. Unfortunately on this day, the weather wasn’t good. Lots of fog, but above all the risk of rain which could make the trail inaccessible. The guides tell us that we’ll have to wait a while to see if the weather improves or if it will be impossible to do what we had planned. After several minutes of waiting, good news! The sky is clearing up, we leave quickly around 10 a.m. without our big bags (fortunately), for a view that’s worth it! Because we do about 1h30 of intense climbing in a humid forest, with some muddy passages because it rained during the night. Once we get up there, we cross a huge cave, the gruta do Morro do Castelo, for about 5 minutes (remember to take a headlamp that day). We continue our way through the rocks, passing under an arch, to arrive at one of my favorite viewpoints of the trek, the Mirante do Mifezinho! A breathtaking view of the Vale do Pati! It’s super beautiful! I didn’t think the views would be so different every day in Chapada Diamantina, and this one’s extraordinary! These cliffs on the left and right which outline this valley where a river crosses it in the middle… Words are insufficient to describe the beauty of the place. I had never seen such a landscape before! After a good thirty-minute break, we turn around a few meters to go to another viewpoint in the area, the Mirante da Daçizinha. The view of the valley’s also super beautiful! We take a good hour to have lunch and quietly admire the view and enjoy the calm of the place. Then we return to our accommodation. We took a little longer to descend, around 1h45, because it’s made up of a few rocks and a little mud. Next to the accommodation, the guide gives us around thirty minutes to swim in a natural swimming pool. Quite refreshing, it feels good! Before the sun sets, we return to our first accommodation to collect our big bags, and leave for another accommodation located about ten minutes’ walk away. I must admit that I preferred the second accommodation because the view from there is magnificent! As it’s a little higher up, there’s a beautiful view of the Vale do Pati! The accommodation’s similar to the first, we sleep in a dormitory with shared bathroom. They sell some drinks at the hostel. After dinner, a good atmosphere settles in with the locals, and there’s even a small impromptu party. If you prefer peace and quiet, the place’s also perfect for stargazing in the Chapada Diamantina National Park.
DAY 3 - 19 KM
We have breakfast a little earlier to leave around 8:30 a.m., a big day awaits us. Being the last day, we leave with our big bags on our backs, but lightened because we only have to carry the food for only one meal, phew! For 45 minutes, we walk in the valley, surrounded by vegetation. This part’s rather flat. Then, we embark on a fairly steep climb for 1h30. We arrive at a viewpoint that’s still incredibly beautiful! We have the impression that the cliffs in front are really close to us even though there are hundreds of meters of void separating us. That’s wonderful ! But this isn’t the last view we’ll have for the day. After a few photo breaks, we continue to move forward on the plain. The Chapada Diamantina National Park still offers us very different landscapes than other days, less vegetation, the horizon as far as the eye can see. Then we arrive at the most beautiful viewpoint of the day on the Cachoeirão. One of the largest in Vale do Pati! It’s impressive to see! Very fine but powerful, we see it pouring from the top of the cliff to the bottom of the valley. We go to another viewpoint right next to it to see the small lake at the bottom of the cliff. But to see it, you have to look at it while lying down. Being scared of heights, I admit that I didn’t stay looking down for long haha. We continue hiking a little bit to stop for lunch near a natural swimming pool. The swim after lunch mostly turned into a collective nap. But after a 1h15 break, we leave in good shape for the last part of the hike. The pace picks up because we see the rain coming at high speed! We walk across the plain we were on the first day before heading back down to the car waiting for us. We arrive around 6 p.m. at the end of the hike, pain in the legs but full of good memories, to then take the road towards Lençóis and arrive around 8:30 p.m.
CONCLUSION OF THESE 3 DAYS OF TREK IN THE VALE DO PATI
This was one of my most beautiful multi-day hikes with a guide. The Vale do Pati has incredible views all along the Chapada Diamantina National Park. This place seems so timeless and peaceful, it’s really worth discovering! I found the hike wasn’t the easiest, because the differences in altitude were quite significant over short periods of time, but doable! The humidity makes the hike a little harder. You still need to be in good physical condition to do it. If you’re scared of heights, there are some passages which can be a bit scary, but these passages are short, or not necessarily obligatory to continue the hike. The accommodations and meals were very good! The two guides from Chapada Backpackers that we had were great! They didn’t necessarily speak English, they often answered us in Spanish or Portuguese. We still managed to understand each other. They made the rhythm according to the level of the group. It’s possible to do the Vale do Pati without a guide, but the trails are poorly marked, you need good organization to get there, and there are few people passing on the trails (in case of a problem, there isn’t telephone network in the valley). I don’t necessarily recommend it, but it’s possible. Honestly, I was super happy to go with this agency, I recommend it without hesitation! And I’m super happy to announce you that thanks to my blog, you can have a discount of 7% on this trek. But how can you have this discount? Very simple! Contact me on instagram with the excursion you want to do and which dates. I will give you a unique discount code for you! So, are you convinced to do one of the most beautiful treks in Brazil?
Price of the 3-day excursion in Vale do Pati with guides, food (2 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 2 dinners), accommodation, transport: BRL 1,100*
WHERE TO SLEEP IN LENÇÓIS?
BUENA VIBE GHEST HOUSE
Rua do Ciríaco 1, S N centro.,
Lençóis, CEP 46960-000, Brazil
Price: BRL 38* / night / person in a dormitory of 3 people.
Click here to book a night.
A great host who welcomed us very warmly and advised us on the region. It’s like a house with several rooms. Nice to meet people, even if it isn’t very big.
CHAPADA DIAMANTINA MAP - 3-DAY TREK IN THE VALE DO PATI
HOW MANY DAYS TO DO THE VALE DO PATI TREK?
There are different options for doing the Vale do Pati trek. With friends, we chose to do the 3-day trek, because there are a few hours of driving time to get there. 3 days were really ideal for us. This allowed us to access very beautiful viewpoints, see waterfalls and discover the magnificent Chapada Diamantina national park. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend 2 days, because it will be too short for you to fully enjoy the Vale do Pati. Plan one day before and one day after the excursion, so a total of 5 days in your program.
WHAT ARE THE BEST MONTHS TO GO TO CHAPADA DIAMANTINA?
At Chapada Diamantina National Park, temperatures are about the same all year round, but you especially want to avoid the rainy season. For this, the best time to go is between May and October. On the other hand, this means that the waterfalls are less impressive, and the landscapes a little less green. It’s up to you to see what you prefer and what you want to see. Personally, I was there mid-January and luckily we had good weather. It was cloudy, but fortunately it didn’t spoil the view! We had a little rain at the end of the 3 days of treks, but that’s it. If you decide to go there during the rainy season, be aware that there’s a risk that some trails won’t be accessible because there are too dangerous.
| JANUARY | This is the heart of the rainy season. The waterfalls are impressive, but some trails can be inaccessible or even muddy. Temperatures vary between 20°C and 30°C. |
| FEBRUARY | These are the same conditions as January. |
| MARCH | The rainy season ends. Trails may be more accessible depending on the weather. |
| APRIL | It’s the end of the rainy season. Temperatures drop slightly and vegetation begins to dry. |
| MAY | Temperatures vary between 18°C and 28°C. It's starting to be nice to visit the area. |
| JUNE | It’s the start of the dry season. There are fewer rainy days. The trails are accessible, but the waterfalls may be less impressive. |
| JULY | If you want to put all the chances on your side to avoid rainy days, this is one of the ideal months for that. Obviously this can change at any time. |
| AUGUST | As July, it’s a month to consider because it isn’t too hot or too humid. On the other hand, the waterfalls may have little water, depending on the date of the last rain. |
| SEPTEMBER | The rainy season is starting again. The temperatures are still pleasant, and the waterfalls are regaining their power. |
| OCTOBER | Same as September, good conditions to fully enjoy the trek. |
| NOVEMBER | It’s the start of the rainy season. Some trails may be muddy depending on the weather. |
| DECEMBER | Temperatures vary between 20°C and 30°C. You may have rainy days, but the waterfalls will be impressive. |
HOW TO GET TO CHAPADA DIAMANTINA?
To access Vale do Pati, you must first go to the town of Lençóis. There are 2 ways to get there by public transport.
BY PLANE
It’s possible to get to Chapada Diamantina from Salvador by plane, in 1h15. Lençóis airport, Aeroporto da Chapada Diamantina – Coronel Horácio de Matos, is located about 30 minutes by car from the city center. You’ll have to take a taxi there, as the Uber application doesn’t work there.
BY BUS
To go to Chapada Diamantina from Salvador directly, you can take a bus. It’ll take you around 7 hours to travel, and you’ll arrive very close to the center of the city. If you’re on the bus during lunch or evening, it’s very likely that the driver will stop to take a break to eat.
WHAT BUDGET TO EXPECT FOR A 3-DAY TREK IN VALE DO PATI?
In this article, I tell you about an all-inclusive excursion. Here’s what should be added to complete your stay:
- Accommodation: approximately BRL 38* per night in a hostel.
- Food: breakfast before embarking on the excursion, and dinner at the end aren’t included. Around BRL 40* depending on what you eat. And why not end this beautiful trek with a good restaurant in Lençóis? If so, plan a little more budget.
- Transport: Lençóis is a small town, you won’t need a taxi or public transport to walk around the center. If you come by bus, you’ll arrive in the city center. Plan a budget if you’re arriving from the airport.
- Activities: the 3-day trek in Vale do Pati with Chapada Backpackers costs BRL 1,100* (and a discount of 7% if you contact me on instagram).
- Others: it’s always better to plan a small budget in case of unexpected situation or if you want something you didn’t plan. In each accommodation where you’ll be at Vale do Pati, they sell some products (drinks and food) if necessary.
In total for 5 days, including 3 days on the Vale do Pati trek, count on around BRL 1,400* for accommodation, food, excursions and some side expenses.
MY TIPS TO DO A TREK IN CHAPADA DIAMANTINA
- Bring good equipment and good physical condition to take the excursion.
- The trails are poorly marked, it’s still preferable to go with an agency or a guide who knows the Chapada Diamantina national park well. Likewise, if the weather conditions are bad, he will be able to adapt the program as best as possible.
- Check with your accommodation or agency if you can leave your belongings to them during the trek.
*Prices displayed in this article are as of January 2023.