Serra das Confusões National Park
21-09-2020
Those who imagine finding only beaches in the northeast region of Brazil are mistaken: the state of Piauí is home to the Serra das Confusões National Park (Confusions mountain range), with more than 823,837 hectares the largest national park in the region. Founded on October 2, 1998, the park aims to preserve the beauty of the caatinga biome, a unique Brazilian biome, absent from any other part of the world, and to safeguard the region's immeasurable historical and scientific value. The caatinga, typical of the northern states of the country and partially of the north of Minas Gerais, occupies approximately 10% of the Brazilian territory.
Administered by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), the Park is full of caves and caverns, in addition to preserving species of flora and fauna threatened with extinction, such as zabelê, jacutinga, cameiro deer, giant armadillo, giant anteater, armadillo-ball-of-caatinga, red-hands-guariba, marmoset, jaguar and cougar.
The Serra das Confusões National Park also houses more than 150 prehistoric sites, which contain cave paintings and human graves dating from more than 6,000 years ago.
The name of the park is because, depending on the brightness, it may be red or white, causing a strange “confusion” of perception. In some caves and caverns there are underground lakes, which contrast with the surrounding dry region. The park is open to visits and archaeological research.
Picture Araquém Alcântara