Aparados da Serra National Park

Listen first. Wind moves through tall grass, and somewhere below you water is falling, a long way down. The air up here is cool, even in summer, and it smells of wet earth and resin. Under your feet the ground is firm and dark. Then the land simply stops. In front of you, the plateau breaks open into a gorge so deep that birds circle below your boots.

You are standing at the rim of Itaimbezinho, the great canyon at the heart of Aparados da Serra National Park. Brazil created this park in 1959, which makes it one of the oldest national parks in the country. It sits on the border between two states, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. The top of the canyon belongs to the cool southern highlands. The bottom opens toward the warm Atlantic coast.

The name of the park explains the view. In Portuguese, "aparados" means trimmed or cut off, and "serra" means mountain range. Early travellers looked at these cliffs and saw a highland that seemed to end with a clean cut, as if someone had sliced it with a knife. The canyon's own name is often explained in a similar way. It is commonly traced to the Tupi-Guarani language, where it is said to suggest cut or sharp stone.

Now look closely at the cliff walls. They are not one smooth face. They are stacked in layers, like the pages of a closed book. Each layer is basalt, a dark volcanic rock. Long before humans, in the age of the dinosaurs, enormous lava flows spread across this region again and again. This happened as the old supercontinent called Gondwana pulled apart, and South America slowly separated from Africa.

Here is the first thing many visitors miss. This canyon was not built up by mountains rising. It was carved down into a flat plateau of cooled lava. Over millions of years, rivers found the cracks in the basalt and cut deeper and deeper. Frost, rain and gravity did the rest. That is why the rim feels so level, and the drop feels so sudden. The land around you is almost flat, right up to the edge.

On the rim, two short trails follow the edge of the canyon. One path leads toward a viewpoint near a waterfall called Véu de Noiva, which means Bride's Veil. On a calm day, the water falls as a thin white ribbon and turns to mist before it reaches the bottom. The longer trail continues along the edge toward a bend in the canyon, where the gorge turns like an elbow and opens a wide view down its length.

Another waterfall here is called Cachoeira das Andorinhas, the Waterfall of the Swallows. And here is the second surprise. The birds that dart around the falling water are actually swifts, not swallows. Some swifts in this region nest on wet rock behind waterfalls. They fly straight through the curtain of water to reach their nests. Watch the spray for a moment, and you may see a small dark shape vanish into it.

Turn away from the cliffs and look at the land behind you. These open grasslands are called campos. Rising from them are tall trees with branches that curve upward, like the arms of a candelabrum. This is the Paraná pine, a native conifer of southern Brazil. Its large seeds, called pinhão, are a beloved autumn food in this region. Families roast or boil them and eat them warm, often beside a wood stove.

The weather here changes fast, and that is part of the experience. Warm, damp air from the Atlantic often climbs the cliffs from below. When it meets the cold highland air, it turns into thick fog. In a few minutes, the whole canyon can disappear behind a white wall. Then the wind shifts, and the cliffs return, one layer at a time. Locals are used to it. Patient visitors are often rewarded.

The bottom of the canyon is a completely different world. Down there, a river runs over smooth stones through dense Atlantic Forest, warm and green and loud with insects. A demanding trail follows the river upstream from the Santa Catarina side. It involves wading through water and climbing over rocks, and park rules usually require a registered local guide. From the rim, you can see this forest only as a dark green line far below.

The nearby town of Cambará do Sul calls itself the national capital of canyons. It is a small, quiet place with a strong gaúcho culture. The gaúchos are the cattle herders of southern South America, and their traditions are still alive here. You may see men in wide trousers and berets, and people carrying a gourd of chimarrão, a strong, bitter herbal tea shared from one metal straw.

Winters in these highlands are some of the coldest in Brazil. Frost is common on clear mornings, and the grasslands can turn silver at dawn. In some years, light snow even falls nearby, which brings excited visitors from warmer parts of the country. In summer, the days are mild, and wildflowers appear among the grass. Each season changes the colour of the land, but the shape of the canyon stays the same.

This park is also the gateway to a larger landscape. Next to it lies Serra Geral National Park, with more canyons cut into the same plateau. Together, they protect one of the most unusual borders in Brazil, where highland grassland, pine forest and coastal rainforest meet within a few kilometres. Animals and plants from very different habitats live close together here, separated mostly by height.

Before you leave the rim, stand still for one more minute. Look at the layers of dark rock across the gorge. Each one is a separate flow of ancient lava. Listen for the water below, and feel the wind push across the grass. As you walk back toward the trailhead, notice how quickly the canyon hides itself again. A few steps from the edge, the land looks ordinary... and that is exactly what makes this place so remarkable.