Jalapão is a vast, empty region of cerrado savanna in eastern Tocantins, one of the least populated corners of Brazil and one of its most unusual landscapes. The state park at its heart protects orange sand dunes, table mountains, grassland and a network of clear, spring-fed rivers.
Its signature experience is the fervedouro: a pool where spring water pushes up through fine sand with such force that you cannot sink, however hard you try. There are several, each a small turquoise circle in the palms, and floating in one is as odd as it sounds. The Dunas do Jalapão, sand blown off the eroding sandstone plateau of the Serra do Espírito Santo, turn deep orange at sunset, and the Cachoeira da Velha is a horseshoe waterfall on the Rio Novo.
The region is also known for capim dourado, a golden grass the local Quilombola communities in Mumbuca weave into bags, jewellery and bowls — the best souvenir in central Brazil.
Distances are long and the roads are sand. Almost everyone visits on a four-to-six-day four-wheel-drive tour from Palmas, the state capital, and the dry season from May to September is the time to go.