Harvest: May–September
Elevation: 700–1,300 metres (2,300–4,270 feet) above sea level
Rainfall: 1,000–1,300 millimetres (39–51 inches)
Temperature: 17–21°C (60–70°F)
A coffee farm in the Chapada Diamantina.
The ‘high plateau’ at the centre of Bahia is called the Chapada Diamantina (‘Diamond Plateau’). It lies within the Serra do Espinhaço mountain range, which crosses Bahia from north to south and extends into northern Minas Gerais. The Chapada landscape consists of high, rocky plateaus and dry grasslands, separated by huge canyons.
In the nineteenth century, a diamond rush brought a wave of miners and garimpeiros (‘washers’),