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 […]