Hiking in the rainy season: when to skip it
From November to March, across much of Brazil's Southeast and Centre-West, rain doesn't just spoil the view: it closes roads, swells rivers in minutes and makes rock slick. What to do in each case, from what the sources record.
1. Afternoon storms: go up early, come down early
On Pico dos Marins, November to March brings afternoon storms; the sources' rule is to climb early and be down before midday. In January 2022, 32 people got lost there in rain and wind and the fire brigade had to bring them down. The same thinking applies to open summits like Itaguaré, where fog and wind are frequent, and Pedra do Sino, where summer rain makes the path slippery.
Example: a November Saturday on Marins, hour by hour
| 01:30 | Start at the base (sunrise groups set off between 1 and 3 am). Sign the logbook. |
|---|---|
| ~06:00 | Summit, about 4h30 up. |
| 06:30 | Start down, about 3h30. |
| ~10:00 | Back at the base, before midday and the afternoon storm. |
An example with the times the sources give. The plan sets the turn-back time for your day, with the forecast.
2. Flash floods: get out of the water when the sky darkens
At waterfalls the danger is a river that rises suddenly. The sources record:
- Cachoeira da Farofa (Serra do Cipó): in January 2024 the park closed attractions because of flood risk. Don't go in heavy rain or with a rising river.
- Saltos do Rio Preto and Vale da Lua (Chapada dos Veadeiros): rain from November to April; on 30 Dec 2024 a surge flooded a Chapada trail and scared five tourists. At Vale da Lua the potholes become whirlpools.
- Cachoeira do Tabuleiro: the park opens only in good weather and closes attractions when there's a risk.
- Poço Azul (DF): rain raises the current and can close passages.
3. Closed or muddy roads
- Agulhas Negras: the road to Abrigo Rebouças is closed from November to February while the red-belly toad breeds, and can close without notice. See Agulhas Negras: when you can go.
- Cachoeira Santa Bárbara: in the rains, some days only a 4x4 gets through the last kilometres of dirt.
- Pico do Itaguaré: the dirt road turns to mud after heavy rain and cars have got stuck.
4. Slick rock and impassable trails
IAT asks people not to climb Anhangava on rainy days; wet rock is slippery on Morro do Canal and on the Marins slabs. Bonete residents say heavy rain makes that trail impassable, and on Pico Paraná the rainy season means deep mud and slow going.
How Bora Trilha decides
You pick the trail and the day and see a stamp, free: GO!, HEADS UP or SKIP IT, with the reason and the weather while you're out, at the top and at the start. When it's SKIP IT, the preview shows the better days that week and other good trails from your city. The hourly forecast comes 16 days ahead; before that, the preview shows what the weather is usually like then.
Sources: park websites, IAT and news reports from 2022 to 2026, gathered in each trail's research.
The trails in this guide (pages in Portuguese): Pico dos Marins, Cachoeira da Farofa, Saltos do Rio Preto, Vale da Lua, Agulhas Negras, Morro do Anhangava, Bonete trail.