Be prepared for an exciting but bumpy ride when you leave the town to go on Chapada Diamantina tours.

Our Chapada Diamantina Transportation Guide below will tell you all you need to know about getting to and around Chapada Diamantina. The ideal way of getting around and seeing the sights is by joining one of our Chapada Diamantina tours. Our Brazil Transportation Guide gives details for transportation options across Brazil.

Chapada Diamantina Transportation Guide

Getting To Chapada Diamantina

By Car

Lencois is 420km (265 miles) from Salvador. Take BR-324 to Feira de Santana, turn onto BR-116 to Argoim and then BR-242 to Lencois. The road is paved the entire way, but the asphalt breaks up in places on the BR-242. Car rental is best done in Salvador. This trip is made in approximately 6 hours.

From Brasilia: around 1060km - 13 hours drive. Leaving Brasilia you must take the Epia Road until it turns into BR-020. You must then follow the BR-020 for 250km and turn right in the BR-349. Follow BR-349 for another 201Km and turn left in the BA-161, after 141km turn left to get BR242 and drive another 250km to reach Lencois.

By Bus

You can reach Lencois by bus from Salvador. There are buses everyday (Real Expresso Company - tel.0800 6001155) from Salvador to Lencois and Lencois to Salvador (times below). The price of the ticket is 47,83BRL, all buses are conventional (quite comfortable).

Lencois to Salvador: Ever day at 7.30, 13.30, and 23.30.
Salvador to Lencois: Every day at 7.00, 16.30, 23.30.

By Air

The Airport of Lencois offers three flights a week from Salvador or Brasilia (Airlines available: Rio Sul, Nordeste) and one flight a week from Sao Paulo (Airline: Pantanal) to Lencois airport, 25km (16 miles) from town.

Every Saturday there is a flight from Salvador to Lencois (at 14:00h) and Lencois to Salvador (15:25h) with TRIP Linhas Aéreas (http://www.voetrip.com.br/). The cost is around 200BRL, and the trip is made in 40 minutes.

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Getting Around Chapada Diamantina

By Bike

Rony Bike offers guided mountain bike trips and also rents bikes. Owner Rony Oliverira has lived in the area for over ten years and biked every possible trail. The cost for one person including a bike and guide is R$75 (US$31) per day. Itineraries can be customised to suit all interests and abilities. Adilson Trilhas, Passeios e Bikes is another option for mountain-bike tours and rentals.

By Horseback

For horseback riding, Taurino Sousa Alcantera in his souvenir shop on Rua das Pedras s/n offers itineraries including a 5-hour ride to the Rio Capivara (R$50/US$21 per person), a short 40-minute ride to Ribeirão de Meio (R$25/US$10 per person) where you can then play on the natural waterslide, and an 18km (11-mile) daylong ride through several rivers to the Rio Roncador (R$75/US$31 per person).

By Hiking

Carry a map, compass, and some spare food and water. If in doubt of your trail-finding skills, bring a guide along. A good day hike that will take you through the heart of the Chapada is the 25km (16-mile) trek from the Capão Valley to Lencois (or vice versa). Done from Lencois, it's possible to get an 8am bus to Palmeiras (R$5/US$2) on the far side of the Chapada, then hire a cab to take you over the rough gravel road to the trail head (R$35/US$15). The mostly level hike takes about eight hours and provides some excellent views along the way back to the village.

Places closer to the beaten track can be reached by buses plying along the route. To explore the Chapada Diamantina National Park you could rent a car from the many car rental agencies in the city or arrange with a Chapada Diamantina tour operator. Lencois itself is best explored on foot as it will take just about an hour to tour the place. As for the other places deep in the Park, use a combination of travel modes depending on the complexity of the trail.