Qualla: Formosa https://qualla.com/formosa-brazil en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:08 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/6/v/n/r/formosa-brazil-wk/hero-small.webp Qualla: Formosa https://qualla.com/formosa-brazil Formosa: Introduction https://qualla.com/formosa-brazil/ Photo credit João Medeiros, CC BY 2.0. The rock art in the hills around Formosa is 4,500 years old. Paleo-Indians left cave paintings and rock engravings at the Stone Lapa and the Archaeological Site of Bisnau, in the district between Bezerra and JK, and anyone who hikes there can still see the figures, some so faint they appear only under raking light at certain angles. The Formosa you visit today was founded much later. In the eighteenth century, settlers of the Arraial of Saint Anthony fled a malaria outbreak in the Parana valley and regrouped on higher ground with the drovers and traders who had come down from Bahia and Minas Gerais, camping in tents made of leather hides they carried for trade. The town's first name was Arraial dos Couros, the Leather Tents Camp.

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Image: João Medeiros | CC BY 2.0

]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/v/n/r/formosa-brazil-wk/6vnr-formosa-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Formosa: Named for Beauty https://qualla.com/formosa-brazil/ Photo credit João Medeiros, CC BY 2.0. The municipality of Formosa was officially created on August 1, 1843, and the name means simply beautiful, chosen for the character of the surrounding highland landscape. The town sits at about 1,000 meters elevation on the central Brazilian plateau, about 100 kilometers northeas...

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Image: João Medeiros | CC BY 2.0

]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/v/n/r/formosa-brazil-wk/6vnr-formosa-named-for-beauty.mp3 0:06 2 full Formosa: The Cruls Commission https://qualla.com/formosa-brazil/ Photo credit João Medeiros, CC BY 2.0. In 1892, the Cruls Commission came through Formosa on its way to mapping out the future capital. Led by astronomer Luiz Cruls, the commission was tasked with surveying the Central Plateau and demarcating the quadrilateral within which Brazil's new capital would eventually be buil...

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]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/v/n/r/formosa-brazil-wk/6vnr-formosa-the-cruls-commission.mp3 0:06 3 full Formosa: Bisnau and the Rock Paintings https://qualla.com/formosa-brazil/ Photo credit João Medeiros, CC BY 2.0. The Bisnau Waterfall drops 130 meters over the rock face about 20 kilometers from the District of Bezerra, with six smaller falls arranged along the descent and bathing pools at the top and bottom. You can walk the edge, rappel the wall, or take the steep trail through primary ra...

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]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/v/n/r/formosa-brazil-wk/6vnr-formosa-bisnau-and-the-rock-paintings.mp3 0:06 4 full Formosa: Macaws' Hole https://qualla.com/formosa-brazil/ Photo credit João Medeiros, CC BY 2.0. Buraco das Araras, the Macaws' Hole, is one of the largest quartzite sinkholes in Brazil. It is 105 meters deep and 295 meters wide. Rainforest grows at the bottom, and a cave at one edge holds an underground river where you can snorkel with the right flashlight. Rappelling into ...

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]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/v/n/r/formosa-brazil-wk/6vnr-formosa-macaws-hole.mp3 0:06 5 full Formosa: Getting Around https://qualla.com/formosa-brazil/ Photo credit João Medeiros, CC BY 2.0. Formosa does not have its own airport. Flights land at Brasilia and the drive from there is about 100 kilometers. A rental car is essentially required to see the waterfalls, caves, and archaeological sites, since many of them are 20 to 40 kilometers from town on roads that can be...

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Image: João Medeiros | CC BY 2.0

]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/v/n/r/formosa-brazil-wk/6vnr-formosa-getting-around.mp3 0:06 6 full