Serra da Capivara Petroglyphs Trail

The Serra da Capivara Petroglyphs Trail winds 85 kilometers through sandstone canyons containing over 30,000 prehistoric rock paintings, some dating back 25,000 years—making this one of humanity’s oldest art galleries. The route follows ancient Indigenous paths between archaeological sites, crossing technical terrain where Pedra Furada’s natural arch serves as both landmark and gateway to the park’s most remote sectors. Flash floods have carved slot canyons so narrow your mirrors brush the walls, while loose sandstone ledges demand precise wheel placement to avoid catastrophic drops into the Caatinga scrubland below.

High-clearance 4WD is mandatory for the backcountry sections, with rock sliders strongly recommended for the technical descents near Toca do Paraguaio. Dry season (May-October) is the only viable window—summer rains turn arroyos into death traps within minutes. Park permits are required and rangers actually check, so handle the bureaucracy in São Raimundo Nonato before heading out. What you get is access to archaeological sites that predate European civilization by millennia, plus technical driving through terrain that looks more like Utah than Brazil.