EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

After Feira de Santana, the BR-324 strikes into the interior proper. The scenery is dull for the first couple of hours, but then the road climbs into the highlands of the Chapada Diamantina , with rock massifs rising out of the scrub, vaguely reminiscent of the American Southwest. At the small town of Capim Grosso the BR-407 branches off on a 300-kilometre journey north to Juazeiro, but sticking with the BR-324 for another hour brings you to the old mining town of JACOBINA . It nestles on the slopes of several hills with panoramic views over the Serra da Jacobina , one of the first parts of the sertão to be settled in strength by the Portuguese. The clue to what attracted them is the name of one of the two fast-flowing rivers that bisect the town, the Rio de Ouro, "Gold River". Gold was first found here in the early seventeenth century, and several bandeirante expeditions made the trip north from São Paulo to settle here. Although cattle and farming are now more important, mining still continues: there are emerald mines at nearby Pindobaçu, two large gold mines, and the diamonds which gave the Chapada Diamantina its name. The last big rush was in 1948, but miners still come down from the hills every now and then to sell gold and precious stones to traders in the town - you'll notice that many of them have precision scales on their counters.

The town itself is notably friendly - they don't see many tourists and people are curious - while the altitude takes the edge off the temperature most days, which makes it a good place to walk. It's a typical example of an interior town, quiet at night save for the squares and the riverbanks, where the young congregate, especially around the Zululândia bar in the centre, while their parents pull chairs into the streets and gossip until the TV soaps start. In all directions, paths lead out of the town into the surrounding hills, with spectacular views, but it still gets hot during the day and some of the slopes are steep, so it's best to take water along. The Hotel Serra do Ouro runs trips (around $20 per person) out to the emerald mines of Pindobaçu, around 60km to the north, and to the gold mines of Canavieiras and Itapicuru, though these are a bit disappointing in some respects: to the untrained eye uncut emeralds look like bits of gravel.