Day 1 – … Belo Horizonte
Arrival, recepon and transfer to hotel overnight Mercure Lourdes or similar

Day 2 – Belo Horizonte – Serra do Caraça
breakfast
Half day City tour followed by transfer to Caraça (150k- 2h30m drive)
City tour
Belo Horizonte was the first capital of the country to be built upon an urban plan. It is the sixth most populous city in Brazil, very progressive, with a modern architecture.The tour starts at the Pampulha Complex, a special area with projects of Oscar Niemeyer architect, an Unesco World Heritage. The visit includes the Ball House, the Art Museum and the Sao Francisco church. The tour connues to the famous Mineirao soccer stadium and the Church of Pampulha, also postcards of the city.
Aer visit, transfer to Serra do Caraça This is a tour for the ones who love history, wildlife and bird watching. We visit the unique Caraça Natural Reserve with the 18th century Sanctuary and School. Besides the historical aracons, the Caraça is a place surrounded by natural wonders. Rivers, mountains and waterfalls are everywhere with its rich flora, and the Atlanc Forest Dinner is served in the ballroom for visitors, and on the stoned steps that lead to the seminar’s church the unforgeable feeding of the maned wolf will take place. At night everyone waits in silence wondering if today the wild male animal will accept the invitaon of the priest as he calls for it, The “lobo guará” ‘lives in the wilderness of the forest that surrounds the seminar. overnight Pousada do Caraça

Day 3 – Full day Caraça
Breakfast
We have a full day to explore: trails to various places, waterfalls, natural pools with special focus on the endangered masked monkey, oen located early in the morning by its laughing call. The birds of the area that we hope to find include the swallow-tailed conga and the hyacinth visorbearer. Lunch & Dinner and overnight for at Pousada Santuário do Caraça – beverages not included

Day 4 – Caraça – Mariana – Ouro Preto
https://minasdapassagem.com.br/tour360/
Breakfast
Transfer from Caraça to Ouro Preto (100km)
We will cross an enormous mining area on the way to Ouro Preto, the iron quadrangle, the region responsible for the richest iron ore producon in the state.
On the way,visit :
Mariana – the first town founded in Minas Gerais 300 years ago
Gold Mine – The largest open-to-visit mine of gold in the world.
A trolley drives us to the underground galleries, which reach 315 meters of length and 120 meters of depth and which between 17 to 20 Celsius degrees
Overnight Pousada Classica or similar

Day 5 – Full day Ouro Preto hps://www.eravirtual.org/op_eng/
Breakfast
The historical center of the richest city of the 18th century has been very well preserved. Gold, Aleijadinho and Tiradentes , 3 terms that relate to Ouro Preto will be easily understood as they unfold the colonial relaons between business, art and polics . Ouro Preto was the first Brazilian city to become a World Heritage Site in 1980, appointed by Unesco. Lunch an opportunity to taste the many different dishes of the rich and flavorful regional cuisine. We have free me to visit the soapstone market, some of the many local shops and also visit a stone cuer workshop.
overnight Pousada Classica or similar

If you want to spend another night ( at addional cost ) in Ouro Preto, here you have some oponal acvies that we can suggest
you:
Soapstone Workshop
If you think the me has come to expand your arsc talent, we have the ideal for you: a soapstone workshop. You saw on the tour the work done in this typical stone of the Ouro Preto region, now you can follow the work in a studio! You can see the making of small decorave objects, stone pots and even sculptures and fountains. Experience, in this workshop, yourself, how it is to carve the stone fresh from the quarry.

Pão de Queijo Class
If you are curious and want to know more about the delicacies, you can do the cheese bread workshop. Cheese bread is the pride of our land, a round, crunchy bread filled with creamy cheese. We have several family recipes, all delicious, and in this workshop you will learn some secrets of the perfect cheese bread.

Cachaça Tasng
Let’s start with the cuisine: Aer a tour in Ouro Preto, when you will get to see an authenc Portuguese colonial city, we will go to a cachaçaria. Cachaça is a brandy made from sugar cane, tradional throughout Brazil and especially in Minas Gerais, where we are proud to have the most famous and tasty cachaças in Brazil. You will parcipate in the tasng of different types of cachaça: from the newest to the oldest, prized and those of different blends, preserved in barrels of fine woods; all of this accompanied by the best snacks from the Minas Gerais cuisine: sausage, crackling, manioc (cassavas), mandioquinha and other flavors of the land, which you may be experiencing for the first me.

Topaz mine
If you were enchanted by the stones and gems of the region, some unique in the world (like the imperial topaz), we have one more experience to show you. Visit a gemstone mine and then follow the stone cung, to find out why the gems of Minas Gerais have this special glow

Coffee Plantaon
Finally, did you imagine we would forget the coffee? Of course not! You will be able to visit a coffee plantaon, surrounded by a forest, in the middle of the mountains; know the different types of coffee, see all the stages of producing a gourmet coffee and taste different roasts. Don’t forget to take a package home to remember that day

Day 6 – Ouro Preto – Congonhas – São João Del Rei – Tiradentes
https://www.eravirtual.org/congonhas_en/
Breakfast
Depart from Ouro Preto to Congonhas – 70 km.
Congonhas contains important works from the Golden Age of Brazil. The main points of interest are Aleijadinho’s sculptural masterpieces of the twelve Prophets, carved in soapstone and his sculptural representaon of the Via Crucis (Staons of the Cross), done in polychromac woodwork. The set of life-sized sculptures is Brazil’s greatest arsc treasure.

Proceed to São João del Rei – 100 km.
The selement was founded in 1703, when gold was discovered in the area. Being at the juncon of the various roads that cut across the interior of the Capitania, São João always fulfilled important funcons, such as the polical center and commercial axis. Significant urban and religious architecture developed there, accumulang an excellent cultural collecon.

Highlights
• Churches of Pilar (1721), Carmo (1733) and São Francisco de Assis (1749)
• On the weekends, the Maria Fumaça, a 19th century steam train, travels the romanc route to Tiradentes. Proceed to Tiradentes – 15 km.

Overnight Pousada Villa Allegra or similar

Day 7 – Tiradentes – Alagoa
Breakfast
Tiradentes was the first selement in the Rio das Mortes region when gold was found in 1702. Tiradentes, who was born here,became our naonal hero while parcipang in the Inconfidência Mineira (1789), a republican liberaon movement in Minas Gerais that was repressed by the Portuguese.

Highlights
• Church of Santo Antonio (1710)
• Museum of Padre Toledo
• Fountain of São José das Botas (1749)

Transfer to Alagoa (220km)
Alagoa, recognized by Unesco as a ‘Biosphere Reserve’, nowadays is recognized for the Parmesan cheese produced by the populaon of the Rural Zone, being the region that covers the municipality considered ‘Terra do Queijo Parmesão’.
Alagoa According to informaon from the Brazilian Instute of Geography and Stascs (IBGE), the region began to be populated around 1730 with gold mining in Minas Gerais. The name Alagoa has its origins in the existence of a large lagoon in what is now the city, which was emped by the pioneers for the exploraon of gold and precious stones.
Dinner and overnight at Pousada Trilha do Ouro

Day 8 – Alagoa
Breakfast
Being in Alagoa is almost a journey through me. The small city, with only about 2,700 inhabitants, preserves the characteriscs of the tradional municipalies in the interior of Minas Gerais. The main source of income for residents is agriculture, so it is possible to hear the noise of nature even while staying in the city center. Alagoa is sll 1,100 meters above sea level, which makes the view of Serra da Manqueira breathtaking. But one of the main aracons of the municipality is the kitchen table. The city is renowned for producing handmade cheese from Alagoa, a type of Parmesan with a tradion of over
100 years in the city.

The Cheese of Alagoa
The greatest Alagoense “treasure” can be found abundantly in the kitchens of Alagoa. The city is known for producing the centenary arsan cheese of Alagoa, a kind of unique Parmesan that can not be produced elsewhere. The origin of the producon is in Italian immigrants who went to live in the city. The region would be similar to that of Italy where parmesan is produced, and consequently, producon was possible in a Alagoense version. The terroir of the city, which adds the height of the mountain, the silo that the cow eats – which consequently interferes with the taste of milk, the temperature, the water of the mine, all influences the unique flavor of the arsan cheese of Alagoa.

Oriented visit to the Olive Plantaon at Cauré Farm **
** (Elected the best Olive Oil of Mercosul 2019). hp://pradoevazquez.com.br/

Historical presentaon of the city of Alagoa – Cheese history and awards
– 12 pm: typical Minas Gerais lunch.
– 1 pm: Visit to * Cheese Shop at Fazenda 2M * where it produces the Famous Awarded Cheese
in France ( bronze 2017, Silver 2019), also the best Arsanal Cheese from Raw Milk in Brazil, Super Gold Medal
– 15: 30hs: * Guided Tasng Tour * of Cheese and Olive Oil at the QUEIJO D’ALAGOA-
– Dinner included.
Overnight at Pousada Trilha do Ouro

Day 9 – Alagoa – Rio de Janeiro
Breakfast
Time to be set, private transfer from Alagoa to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro check in at suggested hotel – aer 14h00
Dinner at Churrascaria Palace or similar – beverages not included
Overnight Arena Leme or similar

Day 10 – Rio de Janeiro
Breakfast
Full day Corcovado & Sugar Loaf tour with lunch at Confeitaria Colombo ( beverages not included)
From many places in the city, the visitor can see the most beauful postcard of Rio de Janeiro since 1931: Christ the Redeemer statue located at Corcovado mountain, 710 meters above the sea level. This tour begins at Cosme Velho neighborhood, from where the cog train starts the trip up to the statue, through the Tijuca Forest. Once there, a panoramic and extraordinary view of Rio will be seen including the Sugar Loaf, the Guanabara Bay, the beaches of the Southern Zone and the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. Aer the visit, we will proceed to a panoramic city tour through downtown, the most historical part of Rio. Parcipants will enjoy panoramic views of the Sambadrome and the tradional Cinelândia square with the historical buildings Municipal Theater, Naonal Library and Naonal Museum of Fine Arts. A visit is made at the Metropolitan Cathedral, in pyramid form, with an internal diameter of 96 meters and height of 80 meters.
Lunch at Confeitaria Colombo on route **.
** closed on Sundays and during National holidays

Then we will take the Aterro do Flamengo avenue to the neighborhood of Urca, where Sugar Loaf is located. The visit is made in two steps by cable car. The first one takes passengers to Urca Hill which is 215 meters high, with a beauful view of the Guanabara Bay and its islands, the Rio-Niterói bridge and Corcovado hill. From this stage, a second cable car will go up to the top of the mountain, with 395 meters high and a splendid view from Copacabana beach, the Santa Cruz fortress and some beaches of Niterói.

By Night, farewell dinner at Restaurant – beverages not included
Overnight Arena Leme or similar

Day 11 – Rio de Janeiro – Home
breakfast
Time to be set, one way private transfer from hotel to airport to take flight bound home

End of our services /// our reference – 17143-2/3