Road distances and drive times in the Chapada

How these numbers were produced

Worth saying before the table, because it changes how you should use it.

• The distance is the shortest path across the OpenStreetMap road network, starting at the ranch gate. It is not the straight line maps and booking sites usually show.
• The time is an estimate, computed at 60 km/h on asphalt and 22 km/h on dirt — speeds calibrated against two legs we drove and timed.
• The surface comes from each road's classification in the network.

So: these are not odometer readings. They are real routes with modelled time. For comparing one base against another and deciding where to stay, that is more than enough — and more than exists published anywhere else.

What the table shows

Every National Park attraction sits between 45 and 49 km — and Vila de São Jorge sits at 52. They are effectively on the village's doorstep. Stay in São Jorge and those trips take minutes; from the Alto Paraíso side it is over an hour each way.

The reverse is equally true. Papagaio, Loquinhas, São Bento, Almécegas and Cristais are all under 31 km from the eastern side. From São Jorge, they are two hours.

The surface matters more than the kilometres. Catarata dos Couros: 35 km in 94 minutes. Poço Encantado: 72 km — twice as far — in 80 minutes. The difference is dirt against asphalt, and it is the column that decides which car to rent.

To choose a base from this, see theguide to where to stay in Chapada dos Veadeiros.