THINGS FROM A NOVELA

The Catimbau Valley

It’s hard to describe such vast beauty, an expanse bordered by stone cliffs. Located between the municipalities of Buíque, Ibimirim, and Tupanatinga, in the state of Pernambuco, the Catimbau National Park is the second most important archaeological site in the country, after Serra da Capivara in Piauí. In addition to the six-thousandyear-old caves and rock paintings, it still preserves the last remnants of the Caatinga, the 100% Brazilian biome, which is currently under threat of extinction.

Among the millennia-old sandstone rocks of the region, the park’s most famous attraction is the Pedra da Igrejinha, better known as Pedra Furada, a natural formation sculpted by rain and wind. For those who enjoy hiking, there are three trails, each with its own specificities and difficulty: Torres, Alcobaça, and Chapadão.

With 2.5 kilometers in length, the Chapadão Trail is a must-see to appreciate the sunset, undoubtedly the most beautiful sunset in the valley. The Torres Trail, a two-kilometer walk, impresses with its lapias, as the colorful sedimentary layers of the route are called. Finally, the Alcobaça Trail takes visitors to the largest archaeological site in Catimbau, a sequence of 50 meters of paintings interspersed with imposing cacti.

Piranhas

300 kilometers from Maceió, Piranhas has been transformed into Canta Pedra, the fictitious town of Mar do Sertão. Its main attraction, besides the immensity of the Old Chico River, is the historic center, listed by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN). The architectural ensemble houses about a thousand colorful colonial houses, which certainly look like something out of a soap opera. Don’t miss the Nossa Senhora da Saúde Church, the Santo Antônio de Lisboa Church, and the Sertão Museum.

From Piranhas, catamarans also depart for the São Francisco Canyons, water corridors between rocky cliffs that emerged after the construction of the Xingó Hydroelectric Plant. One of the most beautiful tours in this set of attractions is the Valley of the Masters, 41 kilometers from the city.

For those who want to learn about the history of the cangaço (a social phenomenon in Northeast Brazil), the tip is to visit the Grota dos Angicos. Lampião and Maria Bonita, the famous cangaceiros, were killed there in 1938. The place still exudes the spirit of the sertanejo (a person from the sertão region). When returning to the city, there is nothing like watching the sunset from the Secular Lookout, where the Old Chico River fills the view.