Wonder Waters

Liver problems? Go to the Dona Leopoldina magnesium
fountain. Skin disorders? Take the sulfur baths of
Tereza Cristina. Anemic? The Conde d'Eu e Dona Isabel
fountains are rich in iron. Apparently there isn’t
any disease the Minas waters won’t cure.

Mineral Spa Towns

The southern mineral spa towns of Minas are well-developed health resorts whose excellent mineral springs have various therapeutic applications. Of the 13 spa towns, Caxambu, with its century-old Parque das Águas, and São Lourenço, surrounded by the green hills of the Serra da Mantiqueira, are of most interest to the traveler. Been traveling hard and fast? Recovering from a tropical disease? Sick of seemingly idyllic beaches? Overdosing on baroque? If the answer is yes to one or all of these questions, the spa towns await you.

CAXAMBU

Brazilians debate the origin of the name Caxambu. Some claim it is a combination of two African words: cacha (drum) and mambu (music), A cacha-mambu or caxambu is a conically shaped drum from the Congo, which the founders of the city likened to the knolls of the area. Others believe it came from the Indian catá-mbu (water that bubbles), in reference to the medicinal fountains. Most couldn't care less where the name came from.

It wasn't until 1870 that the springs were first tapped. Realizing the curative properties of the waters, medical practitioners flocked to the town. In 1886 Dr Policarpo Viotti founded the Caxambu water company (nationalized in 1905).

The water of Caxambu was celebrated on the international water circuit, winning gold medals long before Perrier hit Manhattan singles bars. Caxambu took the gold medal in Rome's Victor Emmanuel III Exposition of 1903, and another gold medal in the St Louis International Fair of 1904, then the Diploma of Honor in the University of Brussels Exposition of 1910.

These water Olympics were discontinued during WW I, and Caxambu's history was uneventful until 1981, when Supergasbrás and Superágua, private firms, took over the government concession. Caxambu is sold throughout Brazil, and in Miami, Florida, where the US Food & Drug Administration has approved it. Caxambu is the only Brazilian mineral water thus honored.

Caxambu is a tranquil resort for the elderly and the middle class, who come here to escape the heat of Rio and the madness of Carnaval. Some couples have been coming here every summer for 30 years or more.

Information

Parque das Águas

The Parque das Águas is like a Disneyland for the rheumatic. Given the proper temperament and surroundings, nursing your ailments can be fun. People come to take the mineral waters, smell the sulfur, compare liver spots, watch the geyser spout every couple of hours, rest in the shade by the canal and walk in the lovely gardens.

The park is not only good, it's good for you. Liver problems? Go to the Dona Leopoldina magnesium fountain. Skin disorders? Take the sulfur baths of Tereza Cristina. Anemic? The Conde d'Eu e Dona Isabel fountains are rich in iron. VD? The Duque de Saxe fountain helps calm the bacteria that cause syphilis. For stomach troubles, drink the naturally carbonated waters of Dom Pedro (there's a water-bottling plant on the premises). The alkaline waters of the Venâncio and Viotti fountains are good for dissolving kidney stones, while the Beleza waters soothe the intestines. The multipurpose water of the Mayrink fountains 1, 2 and 3 is good for gargling, eye irritations, and table water (without the bubbles).

The park is open daily from 7 am to 6 pm, and admission to the grounds is $1. Separate fees are required for paddleboats, the rifle range, hydrotherapeutic massages at the bath house, the Jacuzzi, sauna, clay tennis courts, swimming pool, skating rink and chairlift to the top of Morro Cristo.

Other Attractions

The eight-meter-high Igreja de Santa Isabel da Hungria, built by the princess once she conceived due to the miraculous waters of Caxambu.

Take a Chácara Rosallan, an old farm with a flower orchard and fruit grove. Rosallan is famous for two of her fruit liqueurs: jaboticaba and bottled tangerine. Empty bottles are passed over the tiny tangerines and strapped to the tree; the tangerine grows within the bottle and, weeks later, is made into a liqueur.

Getting There & Away

Seven daily buses make the 49-km trip between Caxambu and São Lourenço on a winding, wooded road. There are four buses a day to São Paulo ($9, 6½  hours), and two to Rio ($8,  5½   hours), at 8 am and midnight, via Cruzeiro and Resende.

SÃO LOURENÇO

São Lourenço is another pleasant city of mineral waters. Just south of Caxambu, it's 275 km from Rio de Janeiro, 296 km from São Paulo and 401 km from Belo Horizonte. The principal attraction is the Parque das Águas, featuring waters with a variety of healing properties, a sauna and a lake with paddle boats. It's open daily from 8 am to 5.20 pm. Other diversions include goat-cart rides for children and horse-and-buggy rides for adults.

Information

Tourist Office

In front of the Parque das Águas, the tourist office is open every day from 8 to 11 am and 1 to 6 pm. Staff have a list of hotels and a map of the attractions.

Post & Telephone

The post office is on Rua Dr Olavo Gomes Pinto. The telefônica is at Rua Coronel José Justino 647.

Circuito das Águas

Volkswagen Kombi half-day tours of the Circuito das Águas (Water Circuit) can be arranged for $20 per person. If possible, organize it the day before. The vans will take up to eight people, and normally visit Caxambu, Baependi, Cambuquira, Lambari and Passa Quatro, but you can also talk (bribe?) the driver into taking you to the mysterious stone village of São Tomé das Letras (80 km away). Taxis and vans congregate at Avenida Getúlio Vargas.

You could also visit Poços de Caldas a city built on the crater of an extinct volcano; this mineral spring town was settled by crystal-glass blowers of the island of Murano, near Venice. There are full-day tours to Poços de Caldas that cost $35 and leave at 7 am.

Templo da Euboise

Members of the Brazilian Society of Euboise believe that a new civilization will arise in the seven magic cities of the region: São Tomé das Letras, Aiuruoca, Conceição do Rio Verde, Itanhandu, Pouso Alto, Carmo de Minas and Maria da Fé. You can visit their temple on weekends from 2 to 4 pm, but you won't be allowed in if you're wearing shorts or sandals.

Entertainment

São Lourenço's nightlife is pretty tame. In the evenings, teenagers and young adults dress up and hang out on the fence and around the entrance of the Hotel Metrópole. The club there has dances, a bar and music video on a large screen. If that's not your scene, there's a cinema on Avenida Dom Pedro II.

Getting There & Away

There are six buses daily to Rio de Janeiro ($7, five hours), six daily to São Paulo ($8, six hours) and 11 daily to Caxambu ($0.75, 45 minutes).

SÃO TOMÉ DAS LETRAS

In southern Minas, 310 km from Belo Horizonte, São Tomé das Letras is a stone village at an altitude of 1450 meters. The name refers to the inscriptions on some of the many caverns in the region. If you're into mysticism or superstition, this is the place to go. Considered by local mystics to be one of the seven sacred cities of the world, the town is filled with hippies, strange stories of flying saucers, visits of extraterrestrials, a cave that is the entrance to a subterranean passageway to Machu Picchu in Peru, and more. This is also a beautiful mountain region, with great walks and several waterfalls.

Things to See & Do

Most of the town's churches and buildings are old and made from slabs of quartzite. One that isn't is the Gruta de São Tomé a small cave, which, as well as its shrine to São Tomé has some of the strange inscriptions. The Euboise (three km), In August, the Festas de Agosto attract lots of pilgrims.

The town is best reached from Três Corações (which happens to be Pelé's birthplace and has a statue of him), 38 km to the west. Buses leave daily at 6 am and 3.30 pm. The dirt road up the mountains is precarious and buses are cancelled during hard rains.

Hitching is possible, but not easy. To try hitching from Três Corações, cross the river next to the bus station and turn into the first street on the right, the one with the train track down the middle. About 50 meters, down on the left-hand side, there's a bus stop. Take the 'B Ventura' bus to its final destination. It'll save you a long uphill walk through town.

São Tomé das Letras can also be reached from Caxambu, 60 km to the south, but not by local bus.

National Parks

PARQUE NACIONAL DE CAPARAÓ

This park is popular with climbers and hikers from all over Brazil. The panoramic views are superb, taking in the Caparaó valley that divides Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. Caparaó contains the highest mountains in southern Brazil, including the third-highest peak in the country: the Pico da Bandeira at 2890 meters. Other peaks include Cristal (2798 meters) and Calçado (2766 meters), All three can be reached via a good network of trails that exist within the park. Climbing gear isn't necessary.

Despite being ravaged by fire in 1988 and by human interference for the last 300 years, the park has a few lush remnants of Mata Atlântica, mostly in Vale Verde, a small valley split by the Rio Caparaó.

Wildlife in the park is not exactly plentiful, but there are still some opossums, agoutis and spider monkeys to be seen. Birdlife includes various eagle, parrot and hummingbird species.

Between November and January, there's lots of rain and it's too cloudy for good views. The best time to visit the park is between June and August—although these are the coldest months, the days are clear. Bring warm clothes!

The Park is open daily from 7 am to 5 pm and costs $0.50 to enter. Make sure you pick up a map. It's possible to camp inside the park. There are two official campsites.

Getting There & Away

Unfortunately, the bus timetables work against the budget traveler. There are two buses a day to Manhumirim from both Belo Horizonte and Vitória. From Belo, they leave at 10 am and 5 pm, from Vitória at 9.30 am and 3.30 pm. The trip from either takes around five hours. The problem is that there are only two local buses a day to Alto do Caparaó: at 8 am and noon. To avoid staying in Manhumirim, catch one of the many buses going to Presidente Soares and ask to be dropped off at the Caparaó turn-off, then hitch the rest of the way. Alternatively, if you can afford it, take a taxi from Manhumirim to Alto do Caparaó ($15 to $25, depending on the mood of the driver and your own bargaining ability).

PARQUE NACIONAL DA SERRA DO CIPÓ

Formed by mountains, rivers, waterfalls and open grasslands, the Parque Nacional da Serra do Cipó is one of Minas' most beautiful. Its highlands, together with an arm of the Serra do Espinhaço, divide the water basins of the São Francisco and Doce rivers. The park contains no infrastructure for tourism.

Most of the park's vegetation is cerrado and grassy highlands, but the small river valleys are lush and ferny, and contain a number of unique orchids. Animal species include the maned wolf, tamarin monkey, banded anteater, tree hedgehog, otter, jaguar and there are large numbers of bats. Birdlife includes woodpeckers, blackbirds and hummingbirds. The park is also home to a small, brightly colored frog, which secretes deadly toxins from its skin. Brazilians call it sapo-de-pijama (the pajama-frog),

Other attractions of the park include the 70-meter waterfall Cachoeira da Farofa, and the Canyon dos Bandeirantes, named after the early adventurers from São Paulo, who used the area as a natural road to the north in their search for riches.

A traveler to Parque Nacional de Serra do Cipó writes: “It was a great experience. I would call the lack of infrastructure an advantage. Some people stay near the Rio do Cipó, but few actually go into the park itself. To camp in the park, stay on the bus for about 20 km past the hotel near the Rio do Cipó. There are two small stone bridges just 100 meters from each other. Ask the driver to let you off at the 4WD road to the right, just past those bridges. Follow the track (all quartz and quartzite) for about five km until it becomes a footpath through the bushes. Don't lose the track because the vegetation is dense. After three to four km more you get to a small, very dry plateau where you'll be completely alone and have a superb view over the canyons to both sides. Just pitch your tent for a few days and take day trips down into the canyons or wander over the mountains higher up. There are waterfalls and pools down in the river, which are very nice to swim in. There is marvelous vegetation and nasty beasties, including snakes, giant spiders and scorpions. When you return to Belo Horizonte, make sure you make a short stop just past the Rio do Cipó. There's a great pub opposite the hotel, about 50 meters to the right. It's actually an old watermill, the mood is great and the owner speaks English. It's worth a visit!” Geert Van de Wiele (Belgium)

Getting There & Away

Located about 100 km northeast of Belo Horizonte, the park is reached by catching a bus to Lagoa Santa, then another bus to Conceição do Mato Dentro. The road passes next to the park and Cardeal Mota, the nearest town.

In the southeast of Minas Gerais, the Parque Nacional da Serra da Canastra is the birthplace of the Rio São Francisco—the river of national unity. With altitudes varying between 900 and 1500 meters, the vegetation is cerrado with grassy tablelands. Although the fauna has been devastated by hunting and bushfires over the years, the park is a reasonable place to see animals, especially early in the morning. Deer, armadillos, banded anteaters, jaguars and maned wolves may be spotted, as well as eagles, vultures and owls. Another big attraction is the 200-meter high Casca d'Anta waterfall. The best time to visit the park is between April and October.

Excerpts from Brazil - A Travel Survival Kit, 3rd edition, by Andrew Draffen, Chris McAsey, Leonardo Pinheiro,  and Robyn Jones. For more information call Lonely Planet: (800) 275-8555. Copyright 1996 Lonely Planet Publications. Used by permission.