Serra da Capivara National Park

Pedra Furada

Useful Information

Location:	Off BR 020, 25 km northeast of Sao Raimundo Nonato. (-8.83661345626393, -42.55535967238924)
Open:	All year daily 6-19. [2021]
Fee:
Classification:	Erosional Cave Painted Cave
Light:	n/a
Dimension:	Ar=1,291 km²
Guided tours:
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Serra da Capivara National Park, Coronel José Dias, State of Piauí, 64793-000.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1979	Serra da Capivara National Park established.
1991	inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Description

Parque Nacional Serra da Capivara (Serra da Capivara National Park) is a famous rock art site. In the pre-Columbian Era the Capivara mountain range was densely populated. The park has more than 400 archaeological sites and the largest concentration of rock paintings in the world, it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The landscape is dominated by canyons and caatinga, the typical semi-arid regions of Northeast Brazil. Many of the numerous rock shelters are decorated with cave paintings, which are up to 25,000 years old. More than 400 sites are known, and actually most of them are closed to the public for protection. Humans may have settled the region as far back as 50,000 years ago, while the oldest archaeological site with rock art dates back 10,530 years.

While the park actually covers many square kilometers and there are 400 site, the site which is actually open to the public is called Pedra Furada. On the other hand it is far less developed than you might expect. It seems, if you arrive individually you should book a guide at the Visitor Center. Then the tour will take a day and due to the sun we recommend enough water, sun protection, a hat and good walking shoes. While the sites have a basic infrastructure like trails and ladders, it is still rather undeveloped. The ladders may be hot from the sun, so gloves are probably a good idea. Also the guides all talk only Portuguese. However, there are various tour operators who offer full day tours including pick up and drop off at the hotel, and considering the lack of infrastructure and the poor roads this is probably the best option.

The main site is Pedra Furada , and it is also the location of the Visitor Center. There are also some trails and cave painting at this site, but on a day tour you can visit half a dozen other sites in the area. Transport by Motortaxi is organized by the guide.