Sao Lourenco

Sao Lourenco is one of the towns of the Circuito das Aguas, the belt of mineral springs in southern Minas that developed as spa resorts from the late nineteenth century. Its Parque das Aguas holds nine springs of measurably different chemistry - alkaline, magnesian, sulphurous, ferruginous and a naturally carbonated one - each tapped at its own pavilion inside the park, with cups sold at the gate and the convention being to try them in sequence and dislike most of them. The park also has a bathhouse offering carbonated baths, a lake with boats and gardens laid out in the spa-town manner. The town around it is small, quiet and geared to an older clientele, which is either restful or dull.

History

Settlement began early in the 19th century on land of João Francisco Viana, whose son Antonio Francisco Viana, by local tradition, found a naturally carbonated spring on the Bomba farm in 1826, and the healing waters of Viana drew visitors, more so after the Minas and Rio Railway opened in 1884. In 1890 Bernardo Saturnino da Veiga bought the springs and with his brothers founded the first company in Latin America to bottle mineral water on an industrial scale, renaming the place after his father, Lourenço Xavier da Veiga; it became a district in 1891 and a municipality on 20 September 1927, and its Art Deco bathhouse by the French architects Henri Sajous and Charles Hébrard was built between 1932 and 1935 (Wikipedia, São Lourenço, Minas Gerais).

What you'll find

• Nine springs in one park - each tapped at its own pavilion, all different.
• A naturally carbonated source - the fountain the town is known for.
• A period bathhouse - carbonated baths and treatments inside the park.
• Spa-town gardens - the laid-out grounds and boating lake.

When to go

April to September. Two days.

Things to know

There is little here beyond the park and the town is very quiet in the evenings. The waters taste strongly of their minerals and most people manage one sip of several. Facilities are dated. It suits a slow two days rather than a full itinerary.

Nearby

Caxambu and Cambuquira are on the same circuit; Pocos de Caldas is west.

Key facts