Freshwater beach and crystal clear waters: discover the city With freshwater beaches, waterfalls and crystal clear waters, Santa Rita do Araguaia, a city located around 500 km from Goiânia, in the southwest of Goiás, entered the Brazilian Tourism Map. The city is bathed by the Araguaia River and has attracted an increasing number of tourists. According to the Municipal Tourism Secretariat, Santa Rita do Araguaia is also known as the Cabacinha Cheese Capital. The municipality of 5,924 inhabitants (according to the latest IBGE Census) is named in honor of the saint of the impossible and preserves the beauty that the river leaves as it crosses the city. ✅ Click and follow the g1 GO channel on WhatsApp Santa Rita do Araguaia is surrounded by waterfalls that are between 35 and 40 km from the city center, and are considered easily accessible. In the part of the river that passes close to the city, there are strips of sand where you can easily see the bottom of the waters, and where residents and tourists gather. The president of the Municipal Tourism Council, Lorena Alves, highlights that the river is the leisure area for the citizens of Santa Rita. According to Lorena, in total there are four waterfalls around the city that are cataloged by Goiás Turismo. "At the weekend, they go to the riverbank to take a bath, take their ball. There are two sand courts where they play beach tennis and volleyball", he reported. She says that in the city there is a tourist terminal where people gather to watch events, such as the so-called "boiacross", a competition between residents that is part of the city's anniversary celebrations. The structure of the site has a shed, bathrooms and parking. Tourist potential Tour guide Sandro Lincoln Alves Margonari, 46 years old, has worked in the city for 12 years and told g1 that, despite its great potential, Santa Rita is still starting work to publicize the city's attractions, which today has around 30 visitor points catalogued. "With me, we have around 40 to 50 people a month. That's 1,000 to 1,100 people a year", says the guide. "We are starting work, preparing everything, formatting places. Tourism is like that, it needs to be started, worked on, publicized, improved and, consequently, people tend to look for it. Our potential is huge", says Sandro. Visitation According to Sandro, currently most places located in private areas are closed to visits without a guide. According to the guide, some tourists left trash or degraded the places when visiting. The owners then decided to allow visits only when accompanied by a guide, to ensure that the points are taken care of. "There are some points where we need to pay some symbol to enter, R$20, and some places, R$50 per person", he said. In addition to the amount charged to enter the property, the guide explained that there are packages that can include two or more waterfalls and have an average cost of R$50 per person. Resident Caline Petry, 28 years old, now a resident of Goiânia, was born and raised in Santa Rita and highlights the beauty of the Araguaia River. According to her, all of the city's leisure activities take place through the waters of the river, which includes the tradition of "boiacross", a custom that is passed down from generation to generation, and has become a sport in the region. "My schoolmates would go to the river to float down the river. They go to a bridge on a farm and follow the course of the river down until they almost reach Alto Araguaia. So then they crossed the whole of Santa Rita just by tubing", he said. Caline also said that the river runs past her parents' house: "There's a path and then there's the river and some rocks that cross it, so people like to take a bath," she said. She also highlights the cabacinha cheese, famous in the city and which has a particular way of preparation to maintain the shape and flavor for which it is known. "This is a cheese that every time my mother comes from Santa Rita or sends me something from Santa Rita, I have to order at least ten units of this cheese so I can distribute it here, because people are completely fascinated; it's actually really delicious", she said proudly. Attractions of Santa Rita Tourist Terminal The Santa Rita Tourist Terminal hosts the city's main events, such as the start of the kayak descent and the buoy-cross on the Araguaia River on an 11km route. According to the city hall, next to the terminal is the rally track, sand courts and concert area. Aerial view of the Tourist Terminal where the city's main events take place Disclosure/Santa Rita City Hall Freshwater beaches According to the city hall, throughout the city there are sandbanks about 3 meters wide that form small beaches. One of the sand strips on the banks of the Araguaia River in the city Disclosure/Santa Rita City Hall Beaches with waterfall Personal archive/Sandro Lincoln Kayak descent Kayaking down the Araguaia River Personal archive/Sandro Lincoln Couto Magalhães Waterfall (Usina Waterfall) The Couto Magalhães waterfall is located on the border between Santa Rita do Araguaia and Alto Araguaia, in Mato Grosso, about 35 km from the center of the city of Goiás. Couto Magalhães Waterfall Personal archive/Sandro Lincoln Two Saltos Waterfall Achoira Dois Saltos is located in the territory of Santa Rita do Araguaia, on the border with the municipality of Mineiros, about 40 km from the city center. Two Saltos Waterfall Disclosure/Santa Rita City Hall Urtigão Waterfall The Urtigão waterfall is about 38km from the city. Urtigão Waterfall Disclosure/Santa Rita City Hall Babylon Waterfall The Babilônia waterfall located on the farm of the same name, 16 km from Santa Rita. Babylon Waterfall Disclosure/Santa Rita City Hall Araguaia River Location Araguaia River Location Personal archive/Sandro Lincoln Cave Cave in Santa Rita do Araguaia Personal archive/Sandro Lincoln Sunset in Serra da Urtiga Sunset in Serra da Urtiga Personal archive/Sandro Lincoln Santa Rita Image According to Santa Rita City Hall, in religious tourism, there was a public-private partnership that promoted the revitalization of a square, in addition to the installation of a 2-meter base and an image of the city's patron saint. The installed Santa Rita de Cássia is around 6.5 meters (totaling 8.5 meters) and is located in front of the Main Church, in the city center. Image of Santa Rita in front of the main church Disclosure/Santa Rita City Hall 📱 See other news from the region on g1 Goiás. VIDEOS: latest news from Goiás