Western Minas Gerais and the Serra da Canastra in Brazil

South of Araxá is the Serra da Canastra national park, in which the Rio São Francisco rises. It is a cool region (May and June average 18°C), comprising two ranges of hills, the Serra da Canastra and the Serra das Sete Voltas, with the Vale dos Cândidos between. The altitude ranges from 900 m to 1496 m; the lower vegetation is mostly grassland, rising to high-altitude plants on the uplands. Animals include the maned wolf, the great anteater, armadillos and deer. Birds that can be seen include rheas, owls, seriema, king vulture and the diving duck. There are also other birds of prey, partridges and tinamous. Besides the source of the Rio São Francisco (6.5 km from the São Roque park entrance), visitors can see the two parts of the

.

Gates close at 1800. The park has a

just inside the park, at the São Roque de Minas entrance. There are three other entrances: Casca d'Anta, São João Batista and Sacramento. The park is best reached from Piumhi, on the MG-050, 267 km southwest of Belo Horizonte (this road heads for Ribeirão Preto in São Paulo). From Piumhi you go to São Roque de Minas (60 km). Information is available from

Between Uberaba and Ponte Alta (31 km east on the BR-262) is

, which is an incredibly important paleontological site, with dinosaur remains and eggs. The

(

),

if you get stuck here.