t Giant anteaters are one of the larger mammals found in the park.
t Giant anteaters are one of the larger mammals found in the park.
Experience Brasília, Goiás, and Tocantins
The indigenous peoples that once lived in this region have largely died out – today only the Karajá (Carajá) and Tapuia retain territory in Goiás, while the Apinayé, Krahô, and Xerente are the most populous in Tocantins. The Portuguese discovered gold in Goiás in the 1680s, but their first real settlement – Cidade de Goiás – was founded only in 1725. Pirenópolis began as a gold camp in 1727, and hydrothermal mega-resort Caldas Novas traces its roots to 1777, when Portuguese settlers discovered hot springs on the Rio Caldas. Cattle ranchers arrived in the 19th century, and agriculture and cattle farming remain key industries in the region today.
The central highlands of Brazil remained sparsely populated well into the 20th century. Only bandeirantes (fortune hunters) had ventured into the wilderness – a land of cerrado (savanna), mesetas (plateaux), and giant winding rivers – until Goiás was chosen as the site for a new national capital in 1956. Driven by Brazil’s then president Juscelino Kubitschek and designed by storied architect Oscar Niemeyer, Brasília rose swiftly from the dust and scrub of the cerrado, and the federal government was officially transferred to the new city in 1960. Its growth since has been explosive, and it is now Brazil’s third most populous city.
After accusing the federal government of decades of neglect, landowners in the northern part of Goiás pushed for autonomy, and the state of Tocantins was created in 1988. Its capital, Palmas, was only founded in 1990. Today, much of this young state’s economy is based on cattle ranching and soybean farming.