The Serra Gaúcha is known for the 6.5 million tourists who travel to Gramado and Canela every year or the almost 2 million people who circulate its most Italian area, Bento Gonçalves and surroundings.
But the mountainous region has other charms in an area that is quiet even during periods considered "high season" (end of year and winter).
The small São Francisco de Paula, colonized by the Portuguese, sits 125 km from Porto Alegre and 36 km from Canela. It is the starting point of a tour that includes adventure, nature, culture, charming hotels, and first-rate cuisine.
Muleteers who had received lands from the Portuguese Crown settled there in the 18th century. The founder, captain Pedro da Silva Chaves, from Lisbon, married Gertrudes de Godoy from São Paulo and left descendants. Historian Maria Lucia Teixeira says that it is not known why São Francisco de Paula did not attract large numbers of Germans in the following century, as happened with neighbors Gramado and Canela.
The road between Porto Alegre and São Chico (as the residents call the city) is narrow, without shoulders, flanked by hydrangeas.
One of the most popular tours, next to Parque 8 Cachoeiras, the Water Circuit (Circuito das Aguas) begins in São Chico and ends in Cambará do Sul, 70 km ahead.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon