Giant waterfall in a beautiful canyon!

The waterfall is at the end of a river valley.  You spend around 3 hours to get there and the last 30 minutes are difficult.  Great place for rock jumping.

About “Sossego”

For this great but sometimes difficult day hike, it’s recommended to leave before 09:00.  The earlier the better, because you’ll be able to spend more your time in the canyon of this incredible waterfall.

A guide is necessary, for the trail is sometimes very hard to follow, especially over some stretches of solid rocks. Some tourists have gotten themselves lost returning to Lençóis because they left late and then lost the trail as night closed in.

Walking to the falls takes 2 to 3 hours, and requires a reasonable amount of physical preparation. Expect a lot of up- and downhill hiking along meandering trails, and an hour or so of rock-hopping in the riverbed.

Take a lunch, but travel light. There’s a fair number of small streams along the way, which provide fresh and clear drinking water.

The first 45 minutes, you’ll be walking on the easy trail to the “Ribeirão do Meio” natural water slide. Then, the trail inclines, loosely following the Ribeirão riverbed.
The trail continues to go up and down again, parallel to the Ribeirão riverbed. As it gets more difficult, the canyon gets more narrow. The last hour, it’s just rock-hopping all the way. Before reaching the falls, the river passes through a narrow canyon with very high, steep walls.

However, at the end you are rewarded with the “Cachoeira do Sossego”, or “Tranquility Waterfall”, a very impressive waterfall, complete with a large natural swimming pool. Here you can enjoy your lunch, have a refreshing swim, and get some well-deserved rest in the sun.

After enjoying the falls for an hour or two, it’s time to pack and take the same way back. Optionally, you can visit the Ribeirão do Meio rock slide on the way back. This famous natural water slide with a nice natural pool is only 45 minutes from Lençóis.

Warning!

If rain starts pouring for an extended period of time, it’s possible for the water level in the riverbed to rise high enough to get you into trouble walking back. There’s no need to rush or panic though, for even in the heaviest and most sudden storms, it requires an hour or two for the water to rise significantly.
In case of extremely heavy rainfall you should leave immediately, but still not panic. There’s always plenty of time.