Sete Lagoas - Brazil Travel Guide > Holiday Destinations

Sete Lagoas

The Lagoa Paulino Lake in the centre of Sete Lagoas attracts many Egrets. In the background is the Serra Santa Helena.
Most tourists come to Sete Lagoas to visit the Gruta Rei do Mato cave. Because this cave is located near the BR-040 motorway, many tourists do not enter the city. That is a pity. Even though Sete Lagoas does not have many ancient buildings, there is a lot to see and do in Sete Lagoas.

Sete Lagoas means “Seven Lakes” in Portuguese. Because the city has expanded over the last years, there are currently about 10 lakes within the urban perimeter (and 18 lakes in the municipality). The original seven lakes are: Lagoa Paulino, Lagoa Boa Vista, Lagoa da Chácara, Lagoa José Felix, Lagoa da Catarina, Lagoa do Cercadinho and Lagoa do Matadouro. These lakes make Sete Lagoas an attractive city. The most popular bars and restaurant are located around the lakes Lagoa Paulino and Lagoa Boa Vista. Because mass tourism ignores Sete Lagoas, the city remains cosy and relaxed. The biggest lake is the Lagoa José Felix but this lake is not as accessible as the other lakes.

Sete Lagoas hosts many congresses. This explains the large number of hotels. If an important congress takes place, all hotels may be occupied. Fortunately, this happens only rarely.

Getting there
Sete Lagoas is located near Belo Horizonte and is connected with this metropolis by two motorways: the MG-424 and the BR-040. The BR-040 motorway connects Sete Lagoas with Diamantina and Brasília. Travelling from Belo Horizonte to Sete Lagoas by the BR-040 takes about an hour. Sete Lagoas can also be reached by the MG-424 motorway but this takes a little longer. This route is know as the touristic route because of the beautiful landscape. The MG-424 is also know as the estrada velha (old way) while the BR-040 is known as the estrada nova (new way).

Sete Lagoas is just as well connected to Belo Horizonte’s airport, Aeroporto Internacional Tancredo Neves (or Confins), as Belo Horizonte itself (via the MG 424 motorway).

Attractions
Gruta Rei do Mato
The beautiful Gruta Rei do Mato cave has a total length of nearly a kilometre and is accessible over a distance of 220 metres. It contains a large number of unique stalactites and stalagmites.

The small chapel Igrejinha da Serra Santa Helena by night. Serra Santa Helena
This mountain is not far from the centre of Sete Lagoas. It is possible to walk to the top but it is better to take a car or a taxi for safety reasons.

The vegetation changes strongly during the way up. There are areas of clean grassland, areas with tree savanna (called cerrado) and patches with dense forest. In one of these dense forests is a well. Near this well, you can often find candles and food that is left behind. Don’t’ touch it: the practitioners of the Afro-Brazilian macumba religion have sacrificed it to the spirit of the well.

On top of the Serra Santa Helena is a small chapel, the Igrejinha da Serra de Santa Helena. The terrain in front of the chapel offers a beautiful view over Sete Lagoas. If you follow the road you’ll arrive in the Parque da Cascata.

The Serra Santa Helena is often used for hang gliding and paragliding.

Parque da Cascata
The Parque da Cascata is a park located in a beautiful crater in the Serra Santa Helena. The slow dissolving of the limestone of the Serra Santa Helena in rainwater created a cave that eventually became that large that the cave collapsed. This collapse produced the crater of the Parque da Casquata. The rainwater that once dissolved the mountain, now feeds a brook that runs through the crater. Upstream, a dam on the brook creates a lake while the brook has a beautiful waterfall further downstream. The Parque da Cascata owes its name to this waterfall as Parque da Cascata means “Waterfall park” in Portuguese. After the water fall, the brook runs through a narrow gorge and it eventually disappears in a cave.

Adventurous visitors visit the gorge through a narrow path. The gorge offers a nice view on the waterfall. The vegetation is dense and abundant and there are often beautiful butterflies and hummingbirds. The gorge can be entered by walking over the rocks around the brook. There are a number of caves at the bottom of the gorge. The brook leaves the gorge through one of these caves. Pay attention to the rock walls when you are walking down: there are horizontally orientated stalactites on some places. This is proof that the rock walls used to be part of the roof of the collapsed cave.

Lagoa Paulino
The lake Lagoa Paulino is situated in the centre of Sete Lagoas. In its surroundings are a large number of bars and restaurants. On Friday and Saturday evenings, there is a cosy market near the lake where cool beer and nice snacks are sold. Near the Lagoa Paulino are the shopping district, the banks and a number of hotels.

Between the Lagoa Paulino lake and the Lagoa Boa Vista Lake is the old railwaystation of Sete Lagoas . Lagoa Boa Vista
Lagoa Boa Vista is smaller than Lagoa Paulino but it is situated in a beautiful green urban landscape. There are a number of sports facilities near the lake. Around Lagoa Boa Vista are a number of bars and restaurants. On a small peninsula in the lake is the Restaurante Mirante that offers a higher quality cuisine.

The Lagoa Boa Vista is situated in the Boa Vista district. On Sunday mornings, this district has a small but cosy market.

Solar do Engenho
The Solar do Engenho is a so called hotel-fazenda (hotel farm). It is located near Sete Lagoas, on an area of more than 200 hectares of native forest. Near the hotel are three lakes that are used for sport fishing. Many fishers release the fish they catch, but on weekdays it is possible to have your catch prepared in the restaurant. During the morning, you can practice horse riding. The Solar do Engenho has a good restaurant serving food in the typical style of Minas Gerais.

The entrance of the Solar do Engenho is located at the BR-040 motorway near the 479 kilometre mark between Sete Lagoas (5 km) and Belo Horizonte (55 km).

Restaurants
Sete Lagoas is an excellent place to enjoy the typical food of Minas Gerais. Sete Lagoas is large enough for restaurants of a good quality but it is not too large or to touristic which means that restaurants depend on returning customers. There are a large number of good establishments, but the best impression of the Brazilian cuisine is offered by the restaurants Dona Ana (Rua Senhor Passos, 178; in the centre), Churrascaria Três Marias (Rua Doutor R Avelar, 26; in the centre) and Fogão de Minas (Rua Doutor. Pedro Luiz, 324; in the centre; often busy). If you visit these restaurants at lunch time (11.00 -1300 hours), a large choice of typical dishes of Minas Gerais is offered. At a self-service restaurant, you serve yourself and then you weigh your plate. At the end of the meal, you are charged according to the weight of food you put on your plate.

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