At the top of Chapada Diamantina, a village of stone houses without cement housed 9,000 prospectors at the height of the diamond rush and today has 380 residents among ruins that seem to be from the Middle Ages.

Written by Douglas Avila

Published on 16/04/2026 at 01:25

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Nestled high in the Serra do Sincorá, within the Chapada Diamantina National Park, a village of stone houses without mortar once housed 9,000 prospectors at the height of the diamond rush and today has only 380 residents among ruins that look medieval

High in the Serra do Sincorá, within the Chapada Diamantina National Park, there is a place that seems to have stopped in time. Igatu, the ghost village of Bahia, housed 9,000 prospectors at the height of the diamond rush in the 19th century.

Today, only 380 residents remain among stone houses without mortar that resemble medieval ruins. The name comes from Tupi: y (water) + katu (good), meaning “good water”.

The village was listed by IPHAN in June 2000. An area with approximately 200 properties, including inhabited buildings and ruins, gained official protection.

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From 9,000 prospectors to 380 residents: the rise and fall of the diamond rush in Igatu

At the height of the prospecting, in the mid-19th century, Igatu buzzed with 9,000 people. Diamonds sprang from the mountains and attracted adventurers from all over Brazil.

Ruins of stone houses in Igatu Chapada Diamantina

The houses were built with stacked stones without cement, fitted together by pressure. The prospectors built quickly to return to the mines.

In 1854, a prospector who found a diamond had the Church of São Sebastião built in stone as a fulfillment of a promise. Three 19th-century cemeteries surround the church.

The decline began with the end of slavery and competition from South African diamonds. Carbonado (black diamond) temporarily sustained the economy due to the Panama Canal.

The discovery of synthetic diamonds dealt the final blow. In 1996, prospecting was officially halted.

What to do in Igatu: trails, waterfalls, art gallery among ruins, and a handmade census

Historic stone church in Igatu Serra do Sincorá

The Gallery Arte & Memória, created by artist Marcos Zacariades, serves as an open-air museum among the ruins. It displays sculptures, tools of prospectors and enslaved people.

A 7.5 km trail connects the Church of São Sebastião to Andaraí, passing by bathing spots in the Coisa Boa River. This was the historical path of the prospectors.

The Cachoeiras dos Cristais and da Califórnia are less than 2 hours’ walk from the village. The Rampa do Caim, at 10 km, offers a viewpoint over the Vale do Pati.

A resident named Amarildo dos Santos conducts a handmade census of Igatu every year. He records it in handwritten books sold from his own home — it is one of the most curious censuses in the country.

How to get to Igatu: 25 km of dirt road from Andaraí

Panoramic view of the Vale do Pati in Chapada Diamantina

Igatu is 25 km from Andaraí via steep dirt road. There is no regular public transport — a private car, taxi, or agency is necessary.

As reported by Estado de Minas, population estimates range between 300 and 400 residents. IPHAN describes Igatu as a “living museum of diamond mining in Brazil”.

Comparisons to Machu Picchu are frequent due to the visual of stone ruins mimicked against the hillside. However, Igatu is from the 19th century, not pre-Columbian. It is a piece of Brazilian history that has survived abandonment and now enchants visitors who accept the adventure of getting there.

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At the top of Chapada Diamantina, a village of stone houses without cement housed 9,000 prospectors at the height of the diamond rush and today has 380 residents among ruins that seem to be from the Middle Ages.

Nestled high in the Serra do Sincorá, within the Chapada Diamantina National Park, a village of stone houses without mortar once housed 9,000 prospectors at the height of the diamond rush and today has only 380 residents among ruins that look medieval

From 9,000 prospectors to 380 residents: the rise and fall of the diamond rush in Igatu

What to do in Igatu: trails, waterfalls, art gallery among ruins, and a handmade census

How to get to Igatu: 25 km of dirt road from Andaraí

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At the top of Chapada Diamantina, a village of stone houses without cement housed 9,000 prospectors at the height of the diamond rush and today has 380 residents among ruins that seem to be from the Middle Ages.

Nestled high in the Serra do Sincorá, within the Chapada Diamantina National Park, a village of stone houses without mortar once housed 9,000 prospectors at the height of the diamond rush and today has only 380 residents among ruins that look medieval

From 9,000 prospectors to 380 residents: the rise and fall of the diamond rush in Igatu

What to do in Igatu: trails, waterfalls, art gallery among ruins, and a handmade census

How to get to Igatu: 25 km of dirt road from Andaraí

Seen from space, an image taken by an astronaut shows an unlikely oasis in the Saudi Arabian desert, protected by a terrain that slows the advance of sand, surrounded by green circles, remnants of an extinct lake and nearly 10,000 years of preserved history.

While the U.S. still faces limitations in deep space, China is developing unprecedented technology with strategic satellites that maintain communication with the far side of the Moon and aims for dominance by 2030.

In Botswana, a salt flat of up to 16,000 km² that was once an African megalake spends months as an absolute white desert, but during the rainy season it transforms into a shallow sea that reappears from nowhere and can be seen from space in the middle of southern Africa.

The Blood Falls of Antarctica hide a living ecosystem trapped under the ice for over 2 million years, where microbes survive without light, without oxygen, and without ever having seen the Sun.

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