The sertão and Parque Nacional de Paulo Afonso in Brazil

Most of Bahia is arid: a rock and scrub semi-desert covered in leafless

forest, cut by the blue vein of the majestic Rio São Francisco and dotted with little settlements where local people scratch a meagre living from the sun-baked earth. This is the

- a backland that has produced some of Brazil's most enduring mythical figures.

, a purple-robed desert prophet whose rag-tag band of marauders and bandits converted to Christianity in the late 19th-century and built Canudos, crushed two armies and almost broke the Brazilian state.

- the

's brutal Robin Hood - who pillaged the rich

, distributed wealth and brutal justice to the desert villages in the early 20th century and died in a gun battle in a town famous for its troubadours and poets. Their legacy, the iron hand of

who impose rough justice to this day and countless forgotten, timeless festivals and rites still characterize the dust and dirt towns of this vast interior. Tourists are seldom seen and are always a curiosity.

North of Feira da Santana, at Km 225 on the BR-116 road to Fortaleza,

, is a good base for exploring the Canudos area with a couple of standard hotels.

About 38 km west is the famous hill shrine of

in the

, reached by 3.5 km of steps cut into the rocks of the

. It's a

45-minute walk each way, so set out early. This is the scene of pilgrimages and great religious devotion during Holy Week. The shrine was built by an Italian who had a vision of the cross on the mountain in 1765. One block north of the bottom of the stairs is the

, with pictures from the 1897 Canudos rebellion.

Canudos itself is 100 km away. Religious rebels, led by Antônio Conselheiro, defeated three expeditions sent against them in 1897 before being overwhelmed. The Rio Vaza Barris, which runs through Canudos, has been dammed, and the town has been moved to

by the dam. Part of the old town is still located 10 km west in the

, created in 1997. For tourist information see www.canudosnet.com.br. There are direct buses to Canudos from Salvador.

Part of the northern border of Bahia is formed by the Rio São Francisco. From Salvador, the paved BR-110 runs 471 km north to the river at

. The town was founded in 1913 when a large dam was constructed. Nearby is the

a series of trails in the

that was used as a hideout by the bandit Lampião. A guide and a 4WD vehicle are recommended for exploring the trails, due to the heat and lack of shade.

About 25 km northwest of the town is the

, an oasis of trees amid a desert of brown scrub and cactus. The

was once one of the great waterfalls of the world but is now exploited for hydroelectric power. The falls are 270 km from the mouth of the São Francisco river, which drains a valley three times the size of Great Britain. The source of the river is 2575 km upstream in Minas Gerais. The 19th- century British linguist and explorer, Sir Richard Burton, took an expedition down the river and negotiated some of its treacherous rapids. Below the falls is a deep, rocky gorge through which the water rushes. The best time to visit the falls is in the rainy season (January-February); only then does much water pass over them, as almost all the flow now goes through the power plant. The best view is from the northern (Alagoas) bank.

The Rio São Francisco is navigable above the falls from above the thriving twin towns (linked by a bridge) of Juazeiro, in Bahia, and Petrolina, in Pernambuco. Navigation is possible as far as

in Minas Gerais, linked by road to the Belo Horizonte-Brasília highway .

The

 receives flights from Recife and Salvador. The

has connections to Maceió, Recife and Salvador.

Juazeiro is located at an important crossroads where the BR-407 meets the Rio São Francisco. On the opposite bank in Pernambuco is

The next major town upriver is Xique-Xique, an agricultural town 587 km from Salvador. The remains of what may be a pre-Neanderthal man have been found in the nearby caves, whose paintings suggest that it could well have been used as an observatory. The next town upriver,

, 650 km from Salvador on the BR-242, is famous for its fishing, especially for

and

. There are a few moderately priced hotels with restaurants.

An important stop on the Rio São Francisco, 148 km from Ibotirama on the BR-242, is Bom Jesus de Lapa. The

is situated within a grotto near to Praça da Bandeira. This sanctuary, discovered by a monk in the 17th century, is the centre of a

(pilgrimage) between July and September, which attracts thousands of visitors to the town. There are a few places to stay and a bank in town.