The settlement began in the 19th century when settlers from the state of Bahia came looking for rubber produced by the mangabeira tree.

After the building of a chapel and the passing of muleteers heading to Bahia the settlement began to grow.

[citation needed] It lies in the Vão do Paranã statistical micro-region less than 20 kilometers from the border with the state of Bahia.

Highway connections from Goiânia are made by taking BR-153 / Anápolis / Alexânia / BR-060 / Planaltina / Formosa / BR-020 / Simolândia / GO-236.

The economy was mainly based on agriculture, with extensive cattle raising occupying most of the territory.

The main agricultural products in planted area were corn, sugarcane, beans, manioc, and rice.

In 2000 Mambaí was ranked 234 out of 242 municipalities in the state of Goiás on the United Nations Human Development Index with a score of 0.647.

You may take a beautiful stroll through a lovely forest to get to the falls, but you can also enter the cave, which involves some work, especially climbing down to reach the entrance.

Due to the variety of shapes, vegetation, and colours, the trail continues through a labyrinth of rocks that is also quite attractive.

The entire trail is a half-day and requires some work, but it is worthwhile because of the stunning scenery and enjoyable swimming spots.

[10] There is a small gypsy community living in the area, which was the study of a linguist, Fábio José Dantas Melo, from the University of Brasília.