Nature as if put in charge to prepare the scene, used to advantage a river cutting between two beautiful mountain ranges. Human engineering was responsible for the structural workmanship. Thus God and man created the Barragem do Boqueiro, damming the waters of the river Seridó, using to advantage a canyon cutting the mountain ranges of Boqueirão and Queimadas.

Located three kilometers from downtown Parelhas, in the region of the potiguar Seridó with a reservoir whose water capacity is the third largest in Rio Grande do Norte, with 85 million cubic meters, the Barragem do Boqueiro is a great attraction to tourists for this city that has farming and mining as its sources of wealth.

If somebody arrives in Parelhas asking where it is the Dam or Açude João Alves, is well possible that they would miss it not realizing that it is the original name of the popular and famous Boqueiro.

For many years the dream of the local population was to stop the suffering from the lack of water in one of the driest regions of the sertão. The river only ran in the winter time, when its floods made a party for the riverside and urban populations. Later the small river turned from there and left a dry stream bed.

The popular wise persons saw that if the waters were dammed between the beautiful and majestic mountains, the suffering of many years would be finished; They did not imagine is that besides the water, it would place Parelhas in the roll and the Tourist Roteiro of the Seridó.

Until the decade of the 80's, the government listened to the yearning for the Boqueiro and finally decided to construct the dam that was ready in 1988. The biggest joy for the Parelhenses happened in 2004, when the bleeding (overflow of the dam) gave a special touch. An entire city walked the three kilometers to see the overflow and to swim in the immense waterfall formed.

The sea of the Boqueiro is an invitation to leisure. Everyone arriving in Parelhas ones is tempted to appreciate the "mundão", from the Tourist Terminal, located at the foot of the mountain range that allows a beautiful vision. Swimming is another program. If they have more luck, is well possible that they could sail or take a ride in a motor boat visiting its hundreds of beaches. There are those that risk fishing on board small canoes.

To complement the tourist menu, the mountain ranges of Boqueiro and Queimadas are an invitation for adventure, with trekking and off-road, in trails that are breathtaking, as well as rappel and mountain climbing. Without saying, the panorama of the waters cutting the barren land, seen from a height of 500 meters, in relation to the base of the mountain ranges is well worth the visit.

Parelhas is located 240 kilometers from Natal and the small population appeared on the shores of the river Seridó, where they developed the agro-pastoral activity. The name of the city must be due to the fact of the constant racing of horses, in pairs, during the fairs on the weekends.

Everything started from the Fazenda Boqueiro, in 1865, considered a meeting point of "beradeiros" (matutos) traveling to Paraíba and of riders who passed frequently to the fair of Conceição do Azevedo, today, Garden of the Seridó.

The small population only started to take city airs from 1920, when the category of Village was reached, but finally on the 22nd of October of 1927, it transformed into a city. The city today explores its mineral resources, producing tourmaline, aqua-marine, garnet, amethyst, and other semiprecious stones.

To arrive in Parelhas, from Natal the way passes on BR-304, Macaíba, until the junction of BR-226 highway that cuts through the cities of Bom Jesus, Serra Caiada, Tangará, Santa Cruz until Currais Novos, where starts the road BR-427 that goes to Acari. Leaving Acari the road is in the direction of Jardim do Seridó, in the mountain range Rajada. Then the RN-086 until reaching center of the city.

Parelhas has a small structure of inns and restaurants, but the Project Roteiros do Seridó is stimulating the implantation of small pousadas, using to advantage the structure and the familiar environment with the "Cama, Café e Rede"*.