Every great Brazilian landscape has its stories, but the Serra do Roncador plays in another league: underground cities, dimensional portals, lights in the sky and a British expedition that vanished without trace. Before you ask — no, this site is not going to promise you extraterrestrial contact. But the curious ecotourist deserves to know the legends that shaped the region (and what is real behind them). The practical side of the trip is in the Serra do Roncador guide.
The colonel who vanished chasing the lost city
In 1925 the British explorer Percy Fawcett set off towards the Roncador in search of “Z”, a lost civilisation he believed existed in the heart of Brazil — and was never seen again. The mystery became a global obsession: dozens of rescue expeditions, hundreds of books, and the acknowledged inspiration for Indiana Jones. To this day the disappearance feeds the aura of the range.
Flying saucers and the saucer port
In the 1970s reports of anomalous lights turned the region into the Brazilian capital of ufology — to the point that Barra do Garças created, by municipal decree, a “discoporto”: an official landing area for UFOs (yes, it exists, and it has become a tourist attraction with a lovely view). Mystical and esoteric groups still keep retreats in the range, drawn by the energy they attribute to its walls of quartz crystal.
What science explains (and what it celebrates)
Without spoiling anyone’s fun: the “lights” have mundane candidates — atmospheric re-entries, balloons, the rare phenomenon of earthquake lights — and no underground city has ever turned up in decades of geological mapping. What science does confirm is equally extraordinary: the range is a sandstone and quartz formation hundreds of millions of years old, the edge of one of the largest plateaux on the continent, with springs that feed three river basins. And the sky that enchants mystics and astronomers is the same one: with no light pollution, the Milky Way appears whole — take a blanket, lie down in the grass and “contact” with the cosmos is guaranteed for any belief.
How to visit this side of the range
- Discoporto (free): go for the sunset and for the curious story — it is an excellent viewpoint.
- A night of open sky at the top of the range: the definitive mystical-scientific program (June to September has the clearest nights).
- Respect on the trails: many points in the range are sacred to local communities, and traditional Xavante territory lies further north — behave as a visitor, not as a mystery hunter.
- And between one legend and another, the waterfalls of the range remain the most verifiable miracle in the region.
🥾 Who is it for?
Effort: light to moderate — the mystical spots are reached by car with short walks. Children: the legends entertain children of any age (from age 6 for the walks). Older travelers and people with reduced mobility: a largely contemplative and workable itinerary; the sunset at the cliff asks for no effort at all.
