In 2004, an amazing new wildlife destination burst onto the South American scene: the Parnaíba Headwaters National Park (PHNP), which was created to protect vast tracts of dry, scenic woodland savannas north of Brasília, the capital of Brazil. The sunny valleys and 1,000-foot-tall, red sandstone cliffs of this reserve offer unique, charismatic wildlife attractions not found together in any other park in South America. This reserve, which is one of Brazil’s largest national parks outside the Amazon, harbors the largest protected dry tropical forest in the world, a much rarer and more visitor-friendly habitat than is wet rainforest. Its open, sunny woodlands can be visited for many months each year, have vanishingly few mosquitoes, and are devoid of malaria or other tropical maladies. Additionally, in our favorite months, nighttime temperatures are delightfully cool, almost cold.
