S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 Passing the gate that leads into the city of Piren\u00f3polis, one can get the impression that it\u2019s just another little municipality in countryside Goi\u00e1s state, with fresh air, peace and calm. But a few blocks ahead, the city with shortly over 20,000 inhabitants begins to rear its charming historical head. Narrow streets unfold showcasing little old houses ,coloured by local handicraft hanging at the doors of many, a rooster crows every once in a while, and you can even heard the sound of the nearby Rio das Almas (River of Souls), with waterfalls that can be looked at or bathed in. <\/p>\n
Lying at the foot of mountain range Serra dos Pireneus, Piren\u00f3polis has been declared a national heritage site by the Institute for National Artistic and Historical Heritage (Iphan) in 1986 due to its colonial houses. It is named after the range, who dubbed it such because they found it to resemble the mountains that comprise the natural border between France and Spain. Festa do Divino Esp\u00edrito Santo (Divine Holy Spirit Festival), which takes place after each Easter, was declared immaterial Brazilian heritage in 2010.<\/p>\n
Established between the late 17th and early 18th century, Piren\u00f3polis was a major urban hub in the past, first during the gold cycle, due to mining, and later due to agriculture. It was also the breeding ground for Goi\u00e1s state music and printed news media, as it spawned the first newspaper in Brazil\u2019s Midwest, named Matutina Meiapontense. Now, the municipality lives off tourism, which became viable after the construction of Bras\u00edlia, which is 150 kilometres away, and is the point of departure for many visitors.<\/p>\n
The city boasts cultural and natural attractions, according to the municipal secretary for Tourism S\u00e9rgio Rady. To cap off the Divine Holy Spirit Fest, the municipality promotes the Cavalhadas. It is a three-day bash during which the struggle between Moors and Christians on the Iberian Peninsula is staged. This year, the event will take place on May 19, 20 and 21, and the staged ritual will occur from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm across the city\u2019s streets. According to Rady, this has been taking place in Piren\u00f3polis for almost 200 years now.<\/p>\n
The myriad attractions of the city, however, make it a good place to visit not just during the Cavalhadas. For those who like to party, there is the Carnival in Piren\u00f3polis, with its marchinhas (traditional music) and young people hailing in from other areas of the Goi\u00e1s state, and the Federal District. During extended holidays, the city is usually packed with people from those two regions. <\/p>\n
But the city also offers more tranquil leisure, on regular weekends or during the week. At these times, the handicraft shops, of which there are about 50, and the waterfalls, which amount to roughly 80, are emptier.<\/p>\n
The waterfalls, by the way, are among the best features of the locality. Twenty of them are equipped to receive visitors, some more and some less. Cachoeira do Abade is 14 kilometres away from the city and the landscape, which can be seen from the road, is a sample of what Serra dos Pireneus is about. After a reception at the farm that houses the fall, a stone road leads to the waters. Underneath, at the waterfall, there is even a small beach. A dip in January, when rains are plenty and the water is cold, gets your spirit ready to face the year. <\/p>\n
Another \u201cbest\u201d of Piren\u00f3polis is the small shops scattered about the historical centre. There are establishments selling everything from imported Indian clothing to earrings, sculptures, and decorative objects, some low- and some very high-priced, made by local artisans. The city also has a tradition of selling silver jewellery and a large number of goldsmiths. The charm of nearly all shops is the old little houses they\u2019re housed in, a type of construction that also harbours a few restaurants. There are all types of food in Piren\u00f3polis. Some establishments are somewhat improvised, selling empad\u00e3o goiano (Goi\u00e1s pie) and caldos (soups), but there are also good restaurants with international or colonial food.<\/p>\n
There are 150 lodges (pousadas) in the city. Some are in the central area, such as Mandala, one of the city\u2019s largest, others are on the road, such as Vila das Pedras, and others yet are in the rural zone. Pousada Tajup\u00e1, near the historical center, but not quite there, is a good choice. It is set in a quiet area and is near everything. In the morning, you can hear roosters crowing, and in the evening, the cows mooing. And, despite the rural vibe of the surroundings, the lodge is charming, and the entrepreneurs have thought out each detail, from the herb and fruit soap in the bathroom to the afternoon coffee offered to guests.<\/p>\n
Service<\/b>:
Piren\u00f3polis
Tourism information: +55 (62) 3331-2633
Email: turismo@pirenopolis.go.gov.br
Website: www.pirenopolis.go.gov.br and http:\/\/cidadeshistoricasgoias.com.br\/pirenopolis\/<\/p>\n
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Surrounded by waterfalls and made of colonial villas, the small city of Piren\u00f3polis, in the state of Goi\u00e1s, attracts tourists all year round. It\u2019s just a 150-kilometre drive from Bras\u00edlia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1455,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-43887","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-tourism"},"wps_subtitle":"Surrounded by waterfalls and made of colonial villas, the small city of Piren\u00f3polis, in the state of Goi\u00e1s, attracts tourists all year round. It\u2019s just a 150-kilometre drive from Bras\u00edlia.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1455"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43887\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}