Monte Verde

Monte Verde sits at around fifteen hundred metres in the Serra da Mantiqueira, close to the Sao Paulo border, and it was settled in the 1930s by a Portuguese family who planted the pines and hydrangeas that give it its look. The trade is cold weather: temperatures drop close to freezing in July, frost is normal, and the town runs on fireplaces, chocolate shops, fondue restaurants and wooden chalets built in a loosely Alpine idiom. Trails run up to Pedra Redonda, Pedra Partida and the Chapeu do Bispo through araucaria and cloud forest, with views over the valley when the weather allows. A chairlift runs up one of the ridges. It is a weekend destination for Sao Paulo and Campinas.

What you actually see

• Cold at fifteen hundred metres - frost normal in winter, close to freezing.
• Alpine-idiom chalets - the wooden building the village trades on.
• Ridge trails - Pedra Redonda and Chapeu do Bispo through araucaria.
• Fondue and chocolate - the winter economy of the main street.

When to go

June to August for the cold; all year for walking. Two days.

Honest expectations

Winter weekends are full and prices rise sharply. The road up is steep, narrow and slow. Cloud and drizzle sit on the village often. The Alpine styling is entirely constructed and there is no immigrant history behind it.

Nearby

Camanducaia is below; Campos do Jordao is east along the range.