Lying 400km north of Palmas, ARAGUAÍNA is many times larger, but no more attractive a place to stay. It dominates the road network in northern Tocantins, located as it is almost exactly halfway between the Araguaia and Tocantins rivers. If you do end up staying here, perhaps while changing from one bus to another, […]

The capital state of PALMAS has held this title since only 1989. Home to almost 190,000 residents, it lies just under 1000km north of Brasília and just over 1200km south of Belém. The town itself, which has long, wide avenues and a pleasant average temperature of around 27°C, is inconveniently set back on the […]

Most travellers spending time in Tocantins come to explore the Ilha do Bananal and the Parque Nacional do Araguaia in the island’s northern reaches, an emerging ecotourist destination. Bananal is the world’s largest river island, over 300km long from head to tail, and is home to the intrepid, canoe-faring Karajá tribe, still renowned for […]

Created in 1989, the state of Tocantins is not an obvious geographical or cultural unit, merely a political and bureaucratic invention. Most visitors pass through the region rather than spend time around the state’s hot and flyblown towns. Apart from the main north–south artery, the BR-153 highway, transport is difficult, and getting to the […]

Totally isolated some 770km west of Rio Branco on the western edge of the Brazilian Amazon, CRUZEIRO DO SUL is a town of some 50,000 inhabitants, many of whom, as in Rio Branco, are social science or biology students; many others are involved in cocaine smuggling. The only dependable links with the outside world […]

The small town of BRASILÉIA is 220km and six hours by bus from Rio Branco; if you’re crossing the border this is where you have to visit the Polícia Federal for your exit (or entry) stamp. The office (daily 8am–5pm) is just to the right of the church as you head from the international […]

Airlines Tavaj, at the airport (T68/211-1008), covers most of the western Amazon including Cruzeiro do Sul, São Gabriel do Cachoeira and Tabatinga; Varig, Rua Marechal Deodoro 115 (T68/229-2539), and at the airport (T68/224-2719), has daily flights to Brasília, Campo Grande, Cuiabá, Manaus, Porto Velho, Rio and São Paulo; VASP, Rua Quintino Bocaiúva 105 (T68/211-1133); […]