Juína

Day Trips

Begin your day with a stroll through Juína’s tree-lined main square, admiring the blend of colonial Portuguese architecture and vibrant street art. Stop at a local bakery for pão de queijo and freshly brewed coffee as you watch merchants set up their stalls. Chat with friendly locals to learn about the town’s founding and hidden historical anecdotes.

Visit the Museu do Índio to see artifacts and exhibitions on the region’s indigenous Kokama and Manoki peoples. Wander through side streets to discover pastel-colored chapels and ornate tilework on century-old buildings. Finish with a gelato at a riverside café while enjoying panoramic views of the Arinos River.

Dine at a family-run restaurant specializing in matrinxã fish stew, accompanied by fresh cassava flour and local herbs. Attend a live forró performance in the municipal theater, tapping your feet to infectious rhythms. End the night with a twilight walk under the streetlamps, savoring the warm Mato Grosso air.

Drive out to Parque Estadual Iquê at sunrise to catch the first rays illuminating its lush savanna. Follow well-marked trails through shifting wetlands alive with calls of herons and macaws. Pause at a lookout to marvel at the park’s mosaic of grasslands and gallery forests.

Join a guided canoe trip along the Iquê River channels, weaving between flooded palms and limestone outcrops. Keep binoculars handy for spotting caimans basking on sandy banks and giant otters diving beneath the surface. Refuel with a riverside picnic of grilled chicken, fresh fruits, and homemade cheese.

Set up camp in the park’s rustic cabins and enjoy a communal barbecue under towering buriti palms. Gather around the campfire as guides regale you with myths of the region’s waterways. Drift to sleep to the soothing sounds of nocturnal wildlife.

Embark on a private catamaran at the Juína pier and glide across the wide Teles Pires at daybreak. Feel the gentle mist on your face as you learn about the river’s role in regional trade and transportation. Watch fishermen casting nets in the golden light.

Stop at an isolated sandbar for a homemade lunch of grilled fish, salad, and tapioca prepared by your onboard chef. Dive into crystal-clear pools for a refreshing swim beneath towering kapok trees. Return to the boat to spot herds of capybara grazing on the riverbank.

Return to town in time for drinks on the rooftop terrace of a boutique pousada overlooking the river. Sample caipirinhas made with local taperebá fruit while watching the sunset paint the water crimson. End with a late-night chat with your skipper about legendary river monsters.

Travel by jeep along dusty backroads to a nearby Manoki village at first light. Receive a warm welcome with traditional chants and herbal teas made from guaco leaves. Explore handcrafted reed huts and marvel at intricate feather headdresses.

Share a communal lunch of mandioca paste and smoked fish around a long wooden table. Learn to weave baskets and carve wooden figurines under the guidance of local artisans. Hear stories of ancestral rites and medicinal plant lore passed down through generations.

Return to Juína for a restorative soak in your pousada’s outdoor plunge pool. Attend a demonstration of maracatu dance and percussion, tapping along to the drumbeats. Savor a dinner of regional specialties like arroz com pequi under starlit skies.

Set off before dawn with a local guide into the rainforest trails leading to Cachoeira Sucuruína. Navigate wooden footbridges over ravines and pause to admire orchids clinging to ancient trees. Greet the falls with a chorus of birdsong and mist drifting through the canopy.

Bask in natural plunge pools at the base of the 30-meter cascade, swimming under the powerful spray. Enjoy a riverside lunch of feijoada and fried bananas served on banana leaves. Explore upper vantage points for panoramic views of cascading water and emerald forest.

Dry off while sipping freshly squeezed pineapple juice on a shaded deck. Return to Juína for a soothing massage using locally grown buriti oil. Dine on empadão goiano, a hearty meat pie stuffed with chicken, olives, and local cheeses.

Depart for a sprawling fazenda (ranch) at sunrise to witness daily life on a Mato Grosso cattle farm. Help gather cows for milking and learn about rotational grazing techniques that sustain the pasture ecosystem. Watch the sunrise over rolling fields dotted with guavira orchards.

Tour the fazenda’s rice and soybean fields aboard an open-air tractor, hearing about sustainable farming practices. Sample farm-fresh cheeses, yogurts, and homemade doce de leite in the shaded veranda. Encounter busy bees pollinating wildflowers on the ranch’s conservation corridors.

Enjoy a traditional churrasco barbecue on wooden benches beneath a big-top canopy. Swap stories with local cowhands over caipirinhas and roasted corn. Fall asleep early in rustic guest quarters lulled by the distant lowing of cattle.

Board a small skiff at first light and drift silently along the Arinos River’s meandering channels. Scan overhanging branches for toucans, kingfishers, and azure macaws returning to their nests. Listen for the distinctive calls of hoatzins echoing through mangrove-like gallery forests.

Land at a sandbank for a picnic of tropical fruits and cheese bread, then head inland to a canopy tower. Climb above the treetops for a spectacular 360° view of hidden lakes and marshes teeming with waterfowl. Photograph roseate spoonbills and sunbitterns in full breeding plumage.

Settle by a riverside lodge firepit and share bird sightings with fellow enthusiasts. Toast with warm guaraná-infused punch as nightjar and potoo calls fill the twilight. Retire early to capture the pre-dawn chorus of howler monkeys.

Stroll through Juína’s bustling municipal market, where vendors display vibrant fruits, spices, and fresh cheese. Sample exotic offerings like bacaba and buriti juices served in coconut shells. Chat with artisans weaving colorful baskets and carving tucum palm jewelry.

Join a cooking workshop led by a local chef, learning to prepare regional staples such as arroz carreteiro and pamonha. Taste homemade jams, artisanal cassava flour, and smoked sausages in the open-air tasting hall. Collect handmade hammocks and pottery as authentic souvenirs.

Return to your pousada to relax by the pool with a cold Brazilian beer. Head out to a nearby beer garden for live sertanejo music, tapping along to acoustic guitars. End the night with a slice of bolo de milho at a 24-hour bakery.

Meet expert outfitters at dawn for a drive to a secluded tributary off the Teles Pires. Cast your line for piranha, pacu, and peacock bass, guided by decades-old fishing techniques. Feel the thrill of the first bite as your rod bends sharply under the tropical sun.

Enjoy a riverside cookout of today’s catch seasoned with fresh herbs and citrus. Swim in shaded backwaters to cool down, keeping an eye out for playful river dolphins. Practice fly-fishing for smaller species among fallen logs and submerged forests.

Return to town in time for a riverside sunset barbecue hosted by your guide’s family. Share fishing stories over freshly grilled fillets, garlic rice, and vinagrete. Cap off the evening with a nightcap of caipirinha and the sound of crickets in the air.

Set out early for a short drive to the serene Lagoa Bela, nestled among coconut palms and gentle dunes. Stroll along the lagoon’s white-sand shorelines, collecting smooth stones and shells. Float lazily in calm, crystalline waters as the morning light shimmers on the surface.

Enjoy a gourmet picnic of tropical salads, fresh ceviche, and coconut water under a palapa. Rent a stand-up paddleboard to explore hidden inlets and reed-lined coves at your own pace. Nap in a hammock strung between palm trees to the lullaby of lapping waves.

Return to Juína in time for a sunset horseback ride along the riverbank. Feast on freshly caught fish at a thatched-roof restaurant overlooking the lagoon. End your final night with a stargazing session, marveling at constellations visible far from city lights.