8 Best Sights in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Waterfalls, natural pools, and caves—among them Gruta do Centenário, one of the world's largest quartzite caves—fill this rugged park whose name means "big face," in homage to its main mountain. The park's most famous inhabitant is the lobo guará, a beautiful orange wolf threatened by extinction. Historic buildings here include an 18th-century convent and the Igreja de Nossa Senhora Mãe dos Homens (Church of Our Lady, Mother of Men), built at the end of the 19th century. The church's French stained-glass windows, rare organ, baroque altars, and painting of the Last Supper by Ataíde make it well worth a stop. There was once a seminary here as well, but it caught fire in 1968. After the accident, the building was transformed into an inn and small museum.

Guided tours—walking, spelunking, and other activities—can be arranged at the administration office, run by priests, once you arrive. You can hike in the lower elevations on your own, but to visit the tallest peaks, some of which rise to about 6,000 feet, you're required to go with a guide. The park's website has information about guides.

In the main building of Belo's railway station, this museum has prompted the regeneration of the station's surrounding area since its opening in 2006. It houses almost 2,000 rudimentary tools and other items used by Brazilian laborers from the 17th to the 20th century.

Although it has an area of nearly 150 acres with Brazilian fauna, flora, archaeology, and mineralogy, the main attraction of this museum run by the Minas Gerais Federal University is the Presépio do Pipiripau (Pipiripau Crèche). This ingenious work of art narrates Christ's life in 45 scenes, with 580 moving figures. It was built by Raimundo Machado de Azevedo, who began assembling it in 1906 and finished in 1984.

More than 3,000 pieces extracted from sites all over the world are on display in the mineralogy museum, which is housed in a postmodern steel-and-glass building.

The city's Diamond Museum, in a building that dates from 1789, displays equipment used in colonial-period mines. The items on exhibit here include instruments made to torture slaves and sacred art from the 16th to the 19th century. There are guided tours of the rooms where diamonds were classified and separated.

With 45 acres of luscious tropical plants and magical winding walkways, the Parque Municipal (municipal park) was inspired by the landscaping of French belle époque gardens and inaugurated in 1897. It shelters an orchid house, a bandstand, a school, a playground, and the Francisco Nunes Theater, a beautiful modern building designed by the architect Luiz Signorelli in the 1940s that still presents theatrical plays and musical performances. With more than 50 tree species, the Municipal Park is highly recommended for walks.

When the city was founded, this square was created to house public administration offices. Today, in addition to centenarian palm trees, fountains, and a bandstand, the square is surrounded by neoclassical, art deco, modern, and postmodern buildings. Take time to linger in the square and wander around the nearby streets. It's the best way to get the pulse of the city.