Raise your hand if the first thing to come to mind when you think of Brazil is something like the beach scene in the movie Rio – Copacabana, tiny bathing suits, soccer on the beach and fruity drinks, all under the watchful eye of a giant Jesus statue on Sugarloaf.
If that’s you, not to worry. In all honesty, I think a lot of Brazilians have the same mental image when it comes to national identity.
But what about the rest of the country? Brazil is the fifth largest nation in the world. Like the US, it’s made up of many different demographics, with most people being descendants of immigrants and/or slaves. It’s had gold rushes and silver rushes and yes, rubber rushes (#trojanman), all of which have attracted various groups of people to different locations all around this magnum sized country (deepest apologies, these terrible double entendres are just at the tip of my tongue).
So, it stands to say that there is a lot more to Brazil than tanning oil, beach volleyball, and feathered headdresses (although I’d never say no to any of those things).
If you wanted to see someplace different, authentic, and where Brazilians actually go to visit, you’d find a world of options.
And it just so happened that, in the midst of seemingly endless family obligations in Goiânia, Rodrigo and I managed to sneak away for a few days and have our own tourist adventure. When I say ”sneak away,” I really mean that Bia, my mother-in-law very nearly kicked us out of the house because she was worried about our mental health. Every day, we were visiting another relative or taking someone out for the day or having people over. Dear Bia eventually put her foot down on our behalf. ”Good God,” she said when our nephew complained about us leaving for a few days, ”let the people have some alone time, we’ve been harassing them enough.”
Among this ”world of options,” which included various national parks and resorts, was the tiny historic town of Pirenópolis. Besides having 82 waterfalls in its vicinity, the town is considered ”the cradle of Goiás,” Goiás being Rodrigo’s home state. Culture, music, commerce all emerged from Pirenópolis, thanks to its position near gold mines and (surprise) the presence of Catholic missionaries from an early date.
In a nutshell, Pirenópolis has old charm and pretty landscape, which is why Brazilians love it.
Why Go to Pirenópolis?
In a nutshell, Pirenópolis has old charm and pretty landscape, which is why Brazilians love it.
And that’s why we loved it, too. Damn, there is a lot of cuteness in the downtown. I mean, come on.
If all you wanted to do was walk around a bucolic little town with old-school architecture, Pirenópolis would fit the bill just fine. Tons of cute restaurants, old churches, parks, and little silver filagree shops. If you want to do a historical tour, there are plenty. If you want to eat yourself silly, go for it. It’s all there.
That being said, Pirenópolis and its surroundings have much more to offer – rafting and hikes, and all of those waterfalls I mentioned earlier. If you saw our IGTV video on our trip, you may remember that we were somewhat impeded in our waterfall adventure (I’ll be sharing the video below as well).
Was it a bummer to not be able to go to the waterfalls? Of course. Waterfalls are my second landscape of choice, next to beaches.
HOWEVER, we stayed at the cutest pousada (inn), which leads me to …
It’s the kind of place where the people running it seem to be in the business for the pure joy of it.
Where to Stay
There are TONS of options for affordable, adorable pousadas in town. We had a rental car, which expanded our options (in fact, I highly recommend renting a car if at all possible). If you want to stay IN the center, there are options – although since I am a bit of a hermit with regards to noise, I wanted something close to town but not so close that we’d be in the hustle and bustle.
The Pousada Flores do Cerrado fit the bill perfectly. It has beautifully groomed tropical gardens, an amazing breakfast, snacks and food available during the rest of the day, extremely friendly and kind service, the list goes on and on. It’s the kind of place where the people running it seem to be in the business for the pure joy of it, and that was communicated in every interaction we had with staff and in all the little touches (like pineapple tea and coconut cake for the afternoon snack. Magic.)
So although it was a downer to not go on our waterfall adventure, the alternative – hanging out at the pousada – was pretty damn good.
Things to Keep in Mind
- Rent a car. It is by far the safest and most flexible option, both for getting there and for getting around once you’re in town. If you’re interested in buses, etc, check out this site for more info.
- There are a million hostels and pousadas in town, as well as in the surrounding countryside, in every price range. Do your research and you’ll find something that works for you. I found our little gem pousada through Booking.com, and it was something like $67/night. Yeah. It was a great deal.
- While lodging is affordable, we found that dining can be more expensive than food elsewhere. There are still a TON of options, (try asking your concierge about Rua de Lazer, for example) and you are sure to find something delicious.
- Pick you pace. Feeling slow? Take a stroll in the historic downtown. Feeling more wild? Hitch a ride with a tour guide for rafting, waterfalls, or whatever you fancy. Your hotel should have recommendations (it’s kind of a given there), but just in case, check out these on Tripadvisor.
- What to wear: Breezy vacay items, for sure. Just be careful about high heels or wedges; the downtown streets are cobbled and very uneven. Take it from someone who was a sneeze away from breaking an ankle.
Top: ASTR the Label, similar here and here; Skirt: ASOS, similar here
Where to Eat:
All locations in the city center.
Quick bite: Casa Nova Empadão
Affordable Buffet: Tempero do Rosário
If you have time for the ”best feijoada in the world”: Pitoresco Arte e Café Was it good VERY. Did it take an hour to get to our table. YES. Certainty that it was actually the best feijoada in the world vs if it just tasted amazing because it was midnight and we hadn’t eaten – 30/60. Just being real.
Late Night Gelato: Valenttine Gelateria Italiana
It was such a relaxing trip, and a dream to have that time with Rodrigo. We’ve put Pirenópolis on the list of places to return to, since there is SO MUCH we didn’t get to!
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have already seen this video summarizing our trip. If not, here’s the link – I believe you can watch it on a desktop or on a smartphone 🙂
I know that’s not the world’s most glam way to embed a video, but Instagram has yet to allow for proper embedding in websites for IGTV the way that YouTube does. Ah. Patience.
What are your thoughts on Pirenópolis, you like? Let me know what you think.
love
Stig.
