Campina Grande, Cariri, Patos, Souza, and Cajazeiras in Brazil

The semi-arid region of thorn and bush that makes up the hinterland of the northeast is known as the

. The Transamazônica runs right through the heart of the region, due west of João Pessoa as the BR-230, and along the axis of the state of Paraíba.

Set in the Serra da Borborema, 551 m above sea level and 130 km west of João Pessoa, the second city in Paraíba has a very pleasant climate. Known as the '

' (door of the sertão), it is an important centre for light industry and an outlet for goods from most of northeast Brazil. In the 1920s it was one of the most important cotton producing areas in

the world; a decline in this industry brought a decrease in prosperity in the 1940s and 1950s and the diversification of industry to areas such as sisal and leather. The city's two universities

have been instrumental in technological development and reactivation of the local economy.

The

Avenida Floriano Peixoto is the main street running east-west through the entire city, with Praça da Bandeira at its centre. The

The

(Evaldo Cruz), a green area with playgrounds, fountains and restaurants; the nearby

with its

where the main festivities of the city take place; and the

, a park around a dam south of the centre. The

, where a large roof has been built over several blocks of old buildings, has regional crafts and produce, is worth a visit.

About 10 km north from Campina Grande is

, where figures in wood and sacking are made, and there is a

.

Some 35 km east of Campina Grande, off the road to João Pessoa, is

, site of the

archaeological centre, where inscriptions dated as 10,000 years old were found on a boulder 25 m long and 3 m high. A small museum at the site contains fossils of a giant sloth and a Tyrannosaurus rex. During the June festivities there is a train service to Itacoatiara.

The

dam on the Rio Paraíba, 70 km southeast of town, is where locals flock on holidays for watersports; there is a hotel-

.

The

proper begins near São João do Cariri an hour or so from Campina Grande. This is an area of fascinating rock formations, with giant weather-worn boulders sitting on top of gently curved expanses of rock that look out over a plain of low bushes and stunted trees. Although the vegetation is quite different to the landscape itself; the arid conditions and the size of the trees recalls the Australian outback (the rocks themselves have been compared to the Devil's Marbles). The most spectacular of all the formations sit in the private grounds of

. Like various other sites in Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte, boulders here are covered in important pre-Columbian rock art, some of which has been controversially dated as pre-Clovis (making it older than the accepted datings for the first waves of American population coming from over the Bering Strait). A famous local holy man lived inside one of the giant hollowed-out stones and the views from his former home at sunset are particularly spellbinding. The

itself is a very pleasant place to stay and there is rich, though depleted wildlife in the area and good birdwatching. Tours can be organized with

, who provide fascinating information about the archaeological sites but have little knowledge of the fauna in the region. The

's guides are informative about life in the

and the use of medicinal plants, but again as ever in Brazil, knowledge of birds and animals is poor.

North of Cariri, 46 km from Campina Grande, is

, the main town of the Brejo Paraibano, a scenic region of green hills and valleys, with a pleasant climate, where colonial sugar

have been transformed into hotels.

West of Campina Grande the landscape turns to vast, flat expanses, flanked by rolling hills and interesting rock formations; very scenic when green, but a sad sight during the prolonged

droughts. Situated 174 km from Campina Grande is Patos, the centre of a cattle-ranching and cotton-growing area. It's also an access point for the

, 28 km away, which includes

, the highest point in the state, at 1130 m above sea level. There are various hotels and restaurants in Patos.

About 130 km northwest of Patos, the pleasant

town of Souza, has high temperatures year-round and is gaining fame for the nearby dinosaur tracks and prehistoric rock

carvings. The

is 1 km from the centre, there are no city buses, walk (hot), take a moto-taxi or a taxi. The

at the Praça Matriz has paintings dating to the Dutch occupation of the area. It currently functions as a school. About 3 km from the centre, atop a hill, is a

, an important religious leader of the northeast who died in 1997. Frei Damião was an Italian friar who came to Brazil in the 1930s and stayed to become an inspiration for the faith of its most recent generation of dispossessed. He is seen as belonging to the same tradition as O Conselheiro and Padre Cícero.

Fossilized dinosaur prints of up to 90 different species, which inhabited the area between 110 and 80 million years ago, are found in a number of sites in the Souza region. These were extensively studied by the Italian palaeontologist Giussepe Leonardi in the 1970s and 1980s. The

, on the sedimentary river bed of the Rio do Peixe, is one of the closest sites to Souza; it has some impressive Iguanodontus prints. Access is 4 km from town along the road north to Uiraúna; the best time to visit is the dry season, July to October. The area has no infrastructure and is best visited with a guide. Try to contact Robson Marques of the

in Natal , these can be combined with visits to Cariri.

Some 37 km west of Souza, the Transamazônica (BR-230) reaches Cajazeiras, the centre of a cotton-growing area, with an impressive tower on the main church and various hotels. This is an access point for the

thermal mineral baths 32 km to the north, an oasis with natural springs in the middle of the

.

From Cajazeiras it is 17 km to the Ceará border; the Transamazônica continues west across the

of Ceará and Piauí and on to Maranhão, Tocantins and Pará. Southwest of Cajazeiras it is 118 km to Juazeiro do Norte, an important pilgrimage centre .