Vale do Capão



Vale do Capão is a valley and a village in the Chapada Diamantina National Park, in the inland region in the state of Bahia in Brazil. It is very easy to start excursions in the park from this point, with or without a guide.

There is no ATM in Vale do Capão. You can arrange with the markets to withdraw money with them but they charge a lot. Best solution is going to Palmeiras.

Get in
The easiest way to get in (and out of) Vale do Capão is from Palmeiras. There are 4x4s and vans (R$15, Feb 2021) leaving from the rodoviaria at least three times a day (synchronized with the arrival of the bus from Salvador). If you come from Salvador, go with Real Expresso till Palmeiras and then take the 4x4 or van waiting next to the bus.

If the departure times from Salvador or the arrival times in Palmeiras do not fit for you, you can take a bus to Seabra and change the bus there to Palmeiras.

From Brasilia there are buses, too. You can depart in the afternoon and arrive in the late morning in Seabra. It costs around R$170 (Feb 2021). There you may have to walk six minutes to another intercity bus station. Just ask where you arrive. The bus to Palmeiras is R$7 (Feb 2021). The app from Buscaonibus shows all operating bus companies on this route with their departure times. In the app you can also find the arrival time in Palmeiras for the bus coming from Salvador

See

 * The Chapada Diamantina National Park is all around. There are a lot of excursions to do. A guide will get you there more easily and you will be able to see more places but some excursions are very easy and can be done walking or hitchhiking (pegar carona).

Do
On apps like OsmAnd or Mapy.cz there are attractions and trails of the area shown.

It is easy to find a guide asking people in the street. You can also go to the Tatu Feliz in the main street, which has a great variety of treckings.

At Wikiloc you will find GPS traces of several trails around the area.

Buy
There are several supermarkets, even along the street going south from the center of the village. At the checkout they don't scan the items. They use a pocket calculator. So in question of the final price let it be calculated slowly for you again. Also let you give a receipt of the contactless payment.

Drink
A lot of (natural) fruit juices in the main street.

Try the PML (Pinga Mel Limão), the local cachaça based drink. There are bars selling it in the center place. You can also buy the ingredients separately (buy the cachaça in a bar) and make it at home.

Sleep
The village is full of dormitories, pousadas, camping sites, bungalows.

For dormitories just look on booking.com and sort by price. Some places with a campground may have beds on the same booking.com listing.


 * Dorm for R$50 (March 2021)
 * Dorm for R$50 (March 2021)

Connect
Your cell phone will probably not work there.

There are at least two internet cafes (that have also wifi).

Stay safe
It seems a very quiet place.

Go next

 * Lençóis
 * Salvador. The van from the Vale do Capao to Palmeiras departs for example at 11am to get the intercity bus to Salavador at 13:40 (March 2021). Ask the place where you stay for current departure times.
 * Brasilia with an overnight bus from Seabra, which can be reached by bus from Palmeiras.