Coffee Farms and Colonial Towns - Del Bianco

Coffee Farms and Colonial Towns
Day 1 - Rio de Janeiro
Arrival, reception and private transfer to hotel. Hotel Royal Rio x 2 nights b/b std category or similar.
Half day Sugar loaf sunset visit
This tour begins with a city panoramic view through downtown Rio, passing
by the Sambodrome and the Metropolitan Cathedral, in pyramid form, with
internal diameter of 96 meters and height of 80 meters. Get to know the
traditional Cinelândia square with the historical buildings, the Municipal
Theater, the National Library and the National Museum of Fine Arts. Pass
through the Aterro do Flamengo, to get to the neighborhood of Urca where
one of the largest symbols of the city is located, the Sugar Loaf. This visit is
made in two steps by cable car. The first cable car takes passengers to Urca
Hill which is 215 meters high and from where one can have a beautiful view from the Guanabara Bay and its islands, the
Rio-Niterói bridge and Corcovado hill. From this stage, a second cable takes passengers to the top with 395 meters to
find a splendid view from Copacabana beach, the Santa Cruz fortress and some beaches of Niterói.
Day 2 – Rio de Janeiro
Breakfast.
HD Historic city tour private – 4 hrs
This is an unusual walking tour, which gives the visitor a feeling of the legends and
stories woven around the narrow streets and old historical buildings of downtown
Rio. The walk includes a visit to many interesting points, such as the São Bento
Monastery, Candelaria, Praça XV, the "Travessa do Mercado", Imperial Palace, the
cultural center located in the beautifully-restored Banco do Brasil, the Casa FrançaBrasil, Ouvidor Street and Gonçalves Dias Street with the traditional Colombo Coffee
Shop. The walk continues on down Uruguaiana Street, Carioca Square up to the
Metropolitan Cathedral where passengers will meet the transportation that will take
them back to their hotels.
Day 3 - Rio de Janeiro/ Paraty
Breakfast. One way private transfer from Rio to Paraty.
Paraty
It is a beach colonial town classified as a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1966
and has been used as the setting for several historical movies. Located 150 miles
southwest of Rio de Janeiro, with five streets running parallel to the ocean
intersected by four streets cutting across then at right angles, the old center of
Paraty reflects the town's colonial past prosperity reflected in its beautiful old
homes and churches.
Paraty is also named "a paradise on earth" by
many poets, referring to steep, jungled mountains that seem to leap into the sea, a
scrambled shoreline with hundreds of islands and peninsulas, and the clear warm
waters of the Baia da Ilha Grande, as calm as an empty aquarium. Perfect for diving
and fishing.
Just stroll on the the "pes-de moleques" (local name of the irregular cobblestone
streets), enjoy the local and international cuisine and feel the beauties immortalized by
artists Djanira, Frank Sheaffer, Buchard, and many others.
Porto Imperial Pousada x 2 nights b/b std category.
HD city tour (no entrance fees included)
Different from other Brazilian colonial cities, the Paraty architecture has character,
originality and definition forming an harmonious architectural set of the XVIII century.
Our agency can count on a different city tour with triglot guides. This guided tour
through the old part of town tells you all about its history and legends.
Perfect tour for filming and photography.
Day 4 - Paraty
Breakfast. Jeep Tour SIB (Cachoeiras/Alambiques Caminho do Ouro)
This tour visits waterfalls inside of the Serra da Bocaina to explore its natural beauties.
The first stop is at exposition of the Gold trail, to learn a little about the history of the
Gold trail, and continue trekking until the Tobogã waterfall, which is famous because it
is a place where people slip off above the stone, a modality with risk and full of
adrenaline. Continue on a small walk of about 10 minutes to the Tarzã waterfall, which
is nice for swimming.
Visit the cachaça distillery Engenho D'ouro, and taste different kinds of cachaça and see
its artesian process of fabrication. Optional stop for lunch (not included).
In this tour, there is a direct contact with nature, to explore the beauty of the flora of
Paraty, including one of the biggest trees of the region named Jequitibá and bromeliads,
among others.
Visit the Pedra Branca waterfall. The last stop is at the Exhibition of Bromeliads, with
more than 300 species.
Tour includes: regular jeep tour, local English speaking guide and ticket to enter the
waterfall.
Day 5 - Paraty/ Barra do Paraí (Package Historic Cities 5D/4N)
Breafast. One way private transfer Paraty/Barra do Pirai (190km).
Visit to the Coffee Farms:
Fazenda Taguara is one of the many colonial
farms found in the Paraíba river valley - famous
for the coffee plantations in the 17th and 18th
centuries. Almost 200 years old, Taguara Farm is
a fine example of the era and has preserved, not
only the building and furniture, but also
paintaings and portraits as well as documents.
João Carlos Tadeu Botelho Pereira Streva, the
owner today, represents the 5th generation of
the famous "Comendador" - the original owner. Continuing with its tradition, its main produce is coffee. A guided tour
of the farm is a visit to the past, the slaves' quarters and a hearty simple farm food meal.
Visit Fazenda São João da Prosperidade for an
architectural and historical look at an 18th
century home. Enjoy Tea and a taste of regional
delicacies. The farm was founded in the
nineteenth century, between 1820 and 1830, at
the beginning of the cultivation of coffee on the
Paraíba Valley. Today it is a tourist haven that
leads people to the time of the coffee barons,
with the uniqueness that time has left.
Dinner & Overnight Fazenda Ponte Alta.
Day 6 - Barra do Piraí/Tiradentes
Breakfast. Drive to Tiradentes (290km) + lunch en route. City Tour. Overnight Pousada Villa
Allegra
Tiradentes was the first settlement in the Rio das Mortes region when gold was found in
1702. Tiradentes, who was born here, became a national hero while participating in the
Inconfidência Mineira (1789), a republican liberation 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)
Day 7 - Tiradentes/São João del Rei/Congonhas/Ouro Preto
Breakfast. Lunch Restaurante Vileiros (regional buffet food). Proceed to São João del Rei 15 km.
The settlement was founded in 1703 when gold was discovered in the area. Being at the
junction of the various roads that cut across the interior on the Capitania, São João del Rei
always fulfilled important functions, such as the political center and commercial axis.
Significant urban and religious architecture developed there, accumulating an excellent
cultural collection.
Highlights:
São Francisco de Assis (1749)
On the weekends, the Maria Fumaça, a 19th century steam train, travels the romantic route
to/from Tiradentes.
Continue to Congonhas (100km)
Congonhas has 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 representation of the Via Crucis (Stations of the Cross), done in
polychromatic woodwork. The set of life-sized sculptures is Brazil’s greatest artistic
treasure.
Drive to Ouro Preto (70km)
Founded in 1698, Ouro Preto is the masterpiece of colonial architecture in Brazil, it was
declared by UNESCO as a “Cultural Patrimony of Mankind”. Due to its distance from the
coast and the exhaustion of the mines after 1789, it is remains as an outstanding artistic
and architectural example of that era. Along the same period, liberation movements
inspired by the Illuminist ideas and the concrete example of the American Revolution were
developed.
Overnight Pousada Clássica.
Day 8 - Ouro Preto/Mariana
Breakfast. FD Mariana & Ouro Preto tour with lunch Restaurante Deguste (regional
buffet)
Daily except on Mondays, Jan 1, Apr 21, Dec 25 and Ash Wednesday.
Drive to Mariana (15km)
The enchanted city, founded in 1696, was, for a short time the capital of State of Minas
Gerais. It was originally called Royal Village of Our Lady of Carmel. In 1745 it received its
present name which was in honor of Queen Maria Ana. A walk down its picturesque
streets allows you to see houses, which date from the beginning of the XVIII century, with
their balconies of wood, iron and even soapstone.
In Minas Gerais Plaza, the churches of St. Francis of Assisi with its richly sculptured door,
our Lady of Carmel, the City Hall and the Pillory can be found.
Visit to the Gold Mine. Drive back to Ouro Preto.
Highlights:
- Church of St. Francis of Assissi: An example of Brazilian religious architecture, designed by Aleijadinho, with wood and
soapstone sculptures by the same artist.
- Museum of the School of Mines: a complete mineralogical view of Brazil, in addition to displays of geological artifacts
from the other countries.
- Church of Our Lady of the Pilar: a church that marked the culmination of Golden Age architecture,with carved works
painted entirely in gold.
- Oratorio Museum
- Opera House
- Taste the typical dishes of the region: Feijão Tropeiro and Tutu a Mineira. Lunch Restaurante Casa dos Contos
(Regional buffet food).
Day 9 - Transfer Ouro Preto/Belo Horizonte airport - 145 km
Breakfast. One way transfer out from Ouro Preto to Belo Horizonte airport.
Our reference X 61368
For rates, please contact our travel consultants.