Santuario do Caraça Mountain Retreat

3 Nights

This tour of Santuario do Caraça takes you to a religious refuge nestling in the mountains of Minas Gerais. A few days of relaxation and contemplation can be supplemented with hikes through the cerrado bushlands, Atlantic Rainforest and even up the mountains. Wildlife observation includes abundant birdlife, the famous visits by the local maned wolves, and even a tapir!

Combines With: All parts of Minas Gerais State, including Belo Horzionte, Ouro Preto and Tiradentes; also national parks in the state such Serra do Cipo, Serra do Canastro and Ibitipoca for outdoor activities.

Best Time to Visit: This tour can be taken all year round with December to February being the hottest, most humid and busiest months, but also with more rainfall. Minas Gerais is generally clear and sunny from March to July.

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from $ 350 USD

3 Nights

Destinations Visited

Ouro Preto
Tiradentes
Belo Horizonte & Minas Gerais

Trip Style

Traditional

Activities Included

Wildlife Observation
Ecotourism

Tailor Made Tours

All our Brazil and South America Tours, are completely flexible with regards to dates, duration or the tours, activities and accommodation that we can include. All the tours featured on our website are our recommendations based on our experience of how to make the very best of your time in South America. We can adjust these details in any way that you wish. We are here to organise a tour that suits you after all!

Itinerary

Day 1

Minas Gerais the Quick Way

Destination: Belo Horizonte to Tiradentes

Your journey into the interior of Minas Gerais begins in Belo Horizonte, with a little detour making it longer than the regular 200km in order to visit the largest contemporary art and sculpture park in South America! Inhotim lies 60km from the city, close to Brumadinho, and is a park full of modern art installations and sculptures, all set in lush botanical gardens filled with Atlantic Rainforest and Cerrado species, and with butterflies and birds as colourful as the artwork. After the middle of the day to browse the park, you continue to Tiradentes in the shadow of the Serra de Sao Jose range. Evening is free to enjoy the town.

Day 2

The Old Gold Trail to Ouro Preto

Destination: Tiradentes to Ouro Preto

If Tiradentes is the most charming mountain town of Minas Gerais, Ouro Preto is perhaps the most spectacular. The journey between them takes two hours by road across Minas, with a stop in the more modern town of Congonhas, which contains the most famous sacred art in Brazil - The Prophets sculptures by Aleijadinho. Ouro Preto clings to the hillsides with mountain views over red-tiled roofs and baroque churches. Colourful houses climb up the cobbled streets to Praça Tiradentes with its grand buildings. Close to town are the Minas da Passagem, a gold mine that takes tourists below ground for a feel of harsh mining conditions.

Day 3

Churches & Sanctuaries

Destination: Ouro Preto to Santuario do Caraça

A morning walking the cobbled streets is as breathtaking as Ouro Preto itself, and visits to colonial churches and the town museums are essential to see the opulence of the era, and the work of sculptor Aleijadinho. After lunch you begin the journey around the hills to the hidden Santuario do Caraça. Trails leading in either direction away from the Sanctuary take you through a mix of vegetation - Atlantic Rainforest close to the rivers, and Cerrado bush vegetation - to waterfalls such as Cascatinha. After dinner and mass, every night the priest calls the local maned wolf to come and eat on the church steps...

Day 4

Final Views of Minas Gerais

Destination: Santuario do Caraça to Belo Horizonte & Away

You have the morning free to explore the trails around the sanctuary and visit a waterfall or two along the way. After lunch you begin the journey to Sabara, 25km from Belo Horizonte. The first historical town of Minas Gerais that you will visit has well preserved baroque churches such as NS (Nossa Senhora) do Rosario dos Pretos; do Carmo; and do Ó! There is also a Gold Museum in the town. You continue on to the airport in Belo Horizonte, from where you fly away from Minas Gerais. This short tour of Brazil\\\'s most fascinating interior state can also be combined with any of our other wonderful destinations across the country.

Prices

* Domestic Flights Estimated Price
N/A

** Prices Per Adult based on two people travelling and sharing accommodation
Simple B&B
from $350 USD Request Quote
3 Stars
from $375 USD Request Quote
4 Stars
from $550 USD Request Quote
5 Stars
from $575USD Request Quote
* Prices vary depending on travel dates and flight availability. Peak periods in Brazil including Carnaval, public holidays and Christmas/New Year usually require a minimum number of nights, so in these cases itineraries may need to be changed. ** Domestic flight prices are estimated on typical values when reserved six months before travel. Prices can never be guaranteed until reservations are made, and do usually become more expensive closer to the travel period.

* Domestic Flights Estimated Price ** Prices Per Adult based on two people travelling and sharing accommodation

N/A

Simple

3 Stars

4 Stars

Luxury

from

$350 USD

Request Quote

from

$375 USD

Request Quote

from

$550 USD

Request Quote

from

$575 USD

Request Quote

* Prices vary depending on travel dates and flight availability. Peak periods in Brazil including Carnaval, public holidays and Christmas/New Year usually require a minimum number of nights, so in these cases itineraries may need to be changed.

** Domestic flight prices are estimated on typical values when reserved six months before travel. Prices can never be guaranteed until reservations are made, and do usually become more expensive closer to the travel period.