Formosa

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Formosa, Goiás, Brazil

Vista do sitio arqueológico da toca da onça formosa goias panoramio, Formosa, Goiás, Brazil

Cachoeira do nacim formosa goias panoramio, Formosa, Goiás, Brazil

Bela flor na lagoa feia Formosa GO panoramio, Formosa, Goiás, Brazil

Inicio da lagoa feia Formosa Goias panoramio, Formosa, Goiás, Brazil

About Formosa

Waterfalls are Formosa's calling card. Barely 80 kilometers from Brasília, this city on the high plateau of Goiás is surrounded by rivers that tumble off the edge of the Planalto Central, and the greatest of them, the Salto do Itiquira, drops some 168 meters in a single free fall into a forested gorge.

The town is older than the capital next door. A royal tax post was set up at Lagoa Feia in 1736 to control the gold trade, and the settlement that grew nearby, known as Arraial dos Couros, became Vila Formosa da Imperatriz in 1843. In the 19th century visitors even proposed the lakes around Formosa as the site for a new inland capital, a dream fulfilled only when Brasília rose nearby.

Today Formosa is a lively regional center and a weekend escape for people from the Federal District. Visitors come to swim in natural pools, explore caves and sinkholes, see rock art in archaeological sites and soar over the cerrado, as the steady thermals make it one of Brazil's best spots for gliding.

Best seasonMay to September (dry season, clearer pools); waterfalls are fullest December to March

Ideal stay2-3 days

ArrivingBy road from Brasília, about 80 km on BR-020

Exploring Formosa: 10 Must-See Spots

Nature 4

Salto do Itiquira, Formosa, Goiás, Brazil

Salto do Itiquira

About 34 kilometers from the center, inside a municipal park, the Itiquira River plunges around 168 meters in free fall, making th...

Lagoa Feia, Formosa, Goiás, Brazil

Lagoa Feia

This natural lake, about six kilometers long, sits close to the city and is where the Portuguese crown set up a tax post in 1736 t...

Buraco das Araras Formosa, Formosa, Goiás, Brazil

Buraco das Araras Formosa

This dramatic sinkhole, around 105 meters deep, opens in the cerrado countryside of Formosa and takes its name from the macaws tha...

Gruta das Andorinhas

Named after the swallows that dart in and out of it, this deep cave in Formosa's countryside reaches roughly 105 meters down and i...

History 1

Toca da Onça Archaeological Site, Formosa, Goiás, Brazil

Toca da Onça Archaeological Site

Officially the Lapa da Pedra archaeological site, the Toca da Onça lies near the road to the Salto do Itiquira and is one of more...

Hikes 1

EcoBocaina, Formosa, Goiás, Brazil

EcoBocaina

This nature area on the edge of the plateau combines several waterfalls, including the Cachoeira dos Reis Magos and Cachoeira da P...

Parks 1

Parque Ecológico Mata da Bica

One of Formosa's two municipal conservation areas, this ecological park protects a patch of native woodland and springs close to t...

Neighborhoods 1

Praça Rui Barbosa

Known locally as the Praça do Coreto for its bandstand, this square was laid out in the 1920s and 1930s as a centenary garden duri...

Entertainment 1

Formosa Gliding

Glider pilots consider Formosa one of the best places in Brazil for their sport. Strong, reliable thermals over the plateau allow...

Temples and Shrines 1

Catedral Nossa Senhora da Conceição Formosa, Formosa, Goiás, Brazil

Catedral Nossa Senhora da Conceição Formosa

Formosa is the seat of a Catholic diocese, and its cathedral dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is the spiritual c...

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Photo credits

Photo: MTur Destinos, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: charlen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: charlen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: charlen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: charlen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: charlen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: charlen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: charlen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: charlen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: charlen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: charlen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: charlen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Ismael Carlos Oliveira de Paula, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Nevinho, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: MTur Destinos, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: MTur Destinos, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: MTur Destinos, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: MTur Destinos, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: MTur Destinos, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: MTur Destinos, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: MTur Destinos, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: MTur Destinos, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: JOPLFM, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0