Catamarã ride to Cânion do Xingó to explore the stunning Sandstone cliffs

A trip to Aracaju, Brazil is not complete without a journey up the São Francisco River to admire the stunning sandstone cliffs of Cânion do Xingó. After a bumpy 3 hour journey to the state border of Sergipe and Alagoas (Brazil loves their speed bumps), we arrived at the dock in Piranhas (appropriately named as we would later find out). The embarkation process to board the Catamarã was a bit dramatic as we approached the boat to some inspirational, Chariots of Fire-esque music.

The grand entrance to board the Catamarã do Festa

After about an hour long boat ride up the São Francisco River from Piranhas, we arrived at the Cânion. It was basically a floating, recreational barge nestled in a small nook of the canyon. In typical tourist trap fashion, it came complete with a small gift shop. If there is one thing everyone needs to know prior to traveling to Brazil - always have at least 30 reais (pronounced hay-eye) on you wherever you're going.

Floating party barge where we stopped to swim for an hour and venture further into the canyon

After docking at the barge, we moved with the masses to get in line to board 10 person row boats that took us further in the canyon. This was a must-do as the canyon walls were no more than 5 meters apart in places but reached over 20 meters above us. The weathering and erosion of the sandstone was quite stunning.

Admiring the sandstone walls of the canyon

We wrapped up the day in the canyon swimming in an enclosed cage essentially that was attached the barge. They say the net was put up to prevent people from swimming up to the walls but I have a suspicion it may have more to do with the namesake of the town that we departed from...Either way, it didn't take away from some solid noodle and chill time.

I have a new found appreciation for pool noodles

All in all, it was a fantastic day at Cânion do Xingó and I highly recommend anyone visiting the state of Sergipe to make the trip!

Impressive mass wasting observed on the boat ride back



