Parque Nacional da Chapada das Mesas Maranhão

One of Brazil's newest national parks, Parque Nacional da Chapada das Mesas is renowned for its dramatic flat-topped rocky bluffs (the mesas, or tables, of its name); it also boasts many beautiful waterfalls, canyons and crystalline swimming holes. It's a fine place for trekking but it gets hot so set out early and bring plenty of water. It is now obligatory for all visitors to the park to contract a local guide. Infrastructure in the park remains limited and its boundaries are often not clearly marked – some of the attractions lie outside its boundaries or on private lands enclosed by the park and charge admission fees. Among the highlights inside the park are the thundering, 33m-wide Cachoeira de São Romão and the Cachoeira de Prata which bursts out two sides of an imposing rock wall.