Pedra da Macela is a wonderful place to go sightseeing. It’s a lookout point 1,840 metres above sea level with beautiful all-around views of forest-covered hills and the rugged Atlantic coastline. The Serra do Mar range can be seen against a backdrop of bays, inlets and islands including Parati, Angra dos Reis and Saco do Mamanguá, Brazil’s only fjord (8 km long, 1 km wide). About 13 km from Pousada dos Anjos by paved road, you reach a padlocked gate with a small passage for pedestrians. The last 2 km have to be covered on foot, as cars aren’t allowed, although the paved surface continues. You’ll need to be fit: it’s a very steep climb.
Fine views also await visitors to Pico do Cume, another summit (1,630 m above sea level), as their reward for a really gruelling trek, recommended only for seasoned ramblers.
There are countless waterfalls for picnics or just enjoying the splendid tropical forest scenery. Swimming in the icy mountain water is feasible for the hardy. The most accessible by car are Cachoeira do Pimenta (where you can see vestiges of an old hydroelectric power plant), Cachoeira do Desterro, Cachoeira do Mato Limpo, Cachoeira da Barra and Cachoeira do Jericó. These are all less than 15 km from Pousada dos Anjos, mostly by unpaved road.
Looking for places to practise adventure sports, such as rafting, hang-gliding, paragliding, rappelling or rock climbing? This is your playground! Just ask at the desk and we’ll give you directions. Qualified guides and other support services are available locally, both for sports like these and for rambles, rides and treks through the forest.
Walking or riding along the Gold Trail is a great idea if you’re interest in history. This is the ancestral route down through the forest to Parati used by the Guayana from time immemorial, and by slavers, muleteers carrying treasure and coffee barons from the 16th to the 19th century. Some parts still look as they did hundreds of years ago in colonial times, when slaves laid the massive cobblestones on the forest floor. Pousada dos Anjos is the ideal starting-place. Mentioned in 16th-century documents as Pareçã, the Guayana Indian name, the site on which it now stands is precisely where colonial travellers climbing the Gold Trail from the coast would make their first overnight stop (see History).
Fazenda Santana is a fine colonial “big house”, originally built in the early 19th century as the centrepiece of a great coffee estate. The drystone walls, slave quarters and water wheel have been preserved. It’s in the Catioca district of Cunha, 20 km from Pousada dos Anjos by unmade road.
The Serra do Mar State Park, one of the few large areas of original Atlantic rain forest remaining in Brazil, can be visited by arrangement. You’ll need a guide and good walking boots to enjoy the forest trails and waterfalls. The entrance to Núcleo Cunha-Indaiá is 20 km from Pousada dos Anjos. Courses and environmental education activities are available at certain times.
The Bocaina National Park begins 12 km from Pousada dos Anjos on the road to Parati. This is also an area of primaeval rain forest and a candidate World Heritage site. The ancient Guayana Indian trail, later the Gold Trail, passes through the Park.
Cunha is an arts and crafts centre, with more than 30 world-class pottery studios in the area. You can visit the studios, buy ornamental and utilitarian wares of exceptionally high technical and artistic quality, and at certain times see Noborigama or Raku kilns in operation. Many studios hold regular Kiln Openings, which offer an insight into the craft and an opportunity to buy pottery fresh from the kiln. These are festive occasions where you can watch the potters at work, talk to them about their art, attend slide presentations and workshops. The town is also home to photographers, painters, weavers and basketmakers, among other artists and artisans.
There are many other sights to see in Cunha proper. The central market (Mercado Municipal) is a restored 19th-century building selling organic produce and excellent leather goods, including riding boots, saddles and walking shoes. The church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception has Baroque statuary and ornamentation; construction began in 1731 but the church has since been rebuilt, although its 1.10-metre-thick rammed-earth walls have been preserved. The church of Our Lady of the Rosary, dating from 1793, is known as the “church of black people” because it was built for use by slaves and funded by their donations. It is a listed building and not usually open to the public. The Francisco Veloso Municipal Museum & Archive has documents on the 1932 Constitutionalist Revolution (see History).
Cunha has excellent restaurants, confectioners and ice cream parlours. The fare on offer should suit practically any taste and budget. Locally produced shitake and shimeji mushrooms, trout, honey, yoghurt, cheese, Paraná pine seeds and chestnuts enrich the culinary palette.
Not in the mood to go sightseeing? Come to the hotel lounge and bar for a fireside chat with a glass of wine or excellent cachaça made in Cunha or Parati. Listen to yarns of goblins, headless mules, werewolves and other local tales. There may even be live Brazilian country music. Pousada dos Anjos is inspiring not just to ramblers and trekkers but to anyone who loves a good book, a quiet snooze, intimacy and meditation, a sauna and cold dip in the pool, a massage, a movie, photography, a bonfire, or just gazing at the myriad bright stars that spangle the sky over Cunha.