Campos do Jordão

Mountain Resort In The Serra Da Mantiqueira, Among The Highest Towns In Brazil, Home Of The Campos Do JordãO Winter Festival Of Classical Music · Campos do Jordão, São Paulo

Campos do Jordão is a mountain resort in the Serra da Mantiqueira, about three hours from São Paulo, and at around 1,600 metres it is among the highest towns in Brazil. It began as a place for tuberculosis patients to breathe cold, clean air and became the winter playground of the São Paulo elite, built in a mock-Swiss and Bavarian style that earned it the nickname of the Brazilian Switzerland. In July, the coldest month, it fills for the Campos do Jordão Winter Festival, the country's best-known classical music festival, and for fondue, chocolate, craft beer and the chance of frost. The Capivari district is the centre of shops, restaurants and nightlife. Around the town are araucaria forests, the Horto Florestal state park, the Amantikir gardens, and the Pico do Itapeva viewpoint over the Paraíba valley. It is smaller and more exclusive than Gramado, the southern equivalent, and very expensive in July, when traffic up the mountain can stop for hours. Out of season it is calm and much cheaper.

Vila Capivari, Campos do Jordão, SP, Campos do Jordão, São Paulo, Brazil

A town, always open, but its year has two very different faces. July is the peak: school holidays, the Winter Festival and the cold bring São Paulo up the mountain, prices can double or more, pousadas demand minimum stays, restaurants in Capivari run queues at dinner and the single mountain road can jam for hours on Friday and Sunday. Festival dates move each year, and some concerts need free tickets collected in advance, so confirm the programme early. Weekends through May, June and August are busy; weekdays out of season are quiet, and some restaurants, shops and attractions close early or shut on certain weekdays. Gardens such as Amantikir, the Horto Florestal and the Palácio Boa Vista keep daytime hours; the palace in particular has limited visiting days, so check. Chairlifts and the tourist train stop in bad weather. The Pico do Itapeva is best at sunrise but often fogged in. Confirm hours locally.

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