Minas Gerais does not announce itself. It is not Rio, with its famous skyline and irresistible beaches. It does not have the electric restlessness of São Paulo. What it has is something quieter and, in some ways, more lasting: extraordinary food, a deeply rooted culture, a landscape that moves between colonial towns and waterfalls and one of the most remarkable art institutions in the world, and a warmth that feels less performed and more simply true.
I came to Minas Gerais through my friend Raissa, who grew up here and who knows this state with the particular intimacy of someone who loves it without needing to explain it. What follows is a selection of the experiences she introduced me to, the kind of things that do not show up easily in travel guides because they require someone on the inside to find them.
1. Visit Inhotim
Located in Brumadinho, about 60 kilometres southwest of Belo Horizonte, Inhotim is simultaneously one of the largest open-air contemporary art museums in the world and one of the most extraordinary botanical gardens in Brazil. Conceived in the 1980s by Minas Gerais businessman Bernardo de Mello Paz and opened to the public in 2006, it spans 140 hectares of Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biome, with over 1,800 works by more than 280 artists from 43 countries exhibited outdoors and across 24 galleries hidden in the landscape.
The experience of Inhotim is unlike any museum you have visited. Galleries are tucked into forests, reflected in lakes, embedded in hillsides. You walk between them, past rare and endemic plant species, across open meadows, through woods where something unexpected always appears. One moment you are inside a room where Yayoi Kusama’s lights surround you in every direction. The next you are standing in front of a giant steel dome hidden in the trees, or listening to sounds rising from below the earth’s surface. The scale is enormous and the pace is entirely your own.
Plan for a full day: Inhotim rewards slowness, and rushing it is a waste of what the place offers. The dry season from May to September offers more comfortable temperatures, though the gardens are particularly lush and green between October and March. From Belo Horizonte, the official shuttle is the most convenient option; a rental car gives you more flexibility. Budget for entrance fees and food on site, there are excellent restaurants within the grounds.
Brumadinho, Minas Gerais — approximately 1.5 hours by car from Belo Horizonte
2. Explore the Waterfalls of Serra do Cipó
Located about 100 kilometres from Belo Horizonte, the national park of Serra do Cipó sits in the south of the Serra do Espinhaço mountain range, at altitudes ranging from 700 to 1,670 metres, and contains one of the most diverse and beautiful natural landscapes in Brazil: crystal-clear rivers, imposing mountain ridges, canyons, caves, and waterfalls that you reach on foot through landscapes of extraordinary variety.
We stayed at Vale do Elefante, a pousada in Santana do Riacho, and it was one of the most pleasurable stays of the trip. Set in the heart of the Serra do Cipó region, it is the kind of place where the morning begins with fresh air and birdsong and the day has no agenda beyond the landscape. Cottages with jacuzzis, a garden with flowers and herbs, and the hills around you in every direction. If you are looking for somewhere to genuinely rest as well as explore, this is it.
The waterfalls nearby are the main event. The Véu da Noiva waterfall is one of the most celebrated, reached by a historic stone-paved trail built during the Gold and Diamond Age. The Bandeirinhas Canyon, formed by the narrowing of the Bandeirinhas River, runs for six kilometres and contains several waterfalls and natural pools. The Cachoeira Grande and the Cachoeira dos Congonhas are also worth seeking out. The Serra do Cipó is best explored with a guide for the more remote trails, and a rental car is essentially required.
Go between May and September for the driest hiking conditions; go between December and March if you want the waterfalls at their most dramatic and the landscape at its greenest.
Vale do Elefante: KM 112, MG-010, Santana do Riacho, Minas Gerais
3. Experience Local Culture at Mercado Novo in Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte holds the title of UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, and nowhere is that title more clearly earned than in its markets. Mercado Novo, opened in 2014 in the centre of the city, is the younger and more contemporary counterpart to the traditional Mercado Central and in many ways the more interesting one for a visitor who wants to understand where Minas Gerais food culture is going rather than simply where it has been.
The space occupies a revitalised old warehouse and has become a genuinely vibrant hub, home to trendy bars, restaurants, specialty shops, craft brewers, and artisanal producers. Here you can taste house-made cachaça and homemade liqueurs alongside locally brewed craft beer, explore contemporary takes on traditional Mineiro cooking, and discover young chefs and producers doing something genuinely new with the extraordinary ingredient heritage of this state.
The atmosphere is relaxed and convivial — think Berlin street food market meets Brazilian hospitality — and the crowd on a weekend morning is a good cross-section of the city: students, locals, food professionals, families. Go early, eat something at one of the bars, drink a coffee, and stay longer than you planned. Budget: affordable to mid-range, depending on how many things you order.
Rua Curitiba, 2000, Centro, Belo Horizonte
4. Shop and Eat at the Feira Hippie on a Sunday Morning
If Belo Horizonte has a single unmissable Sunday ritual, it is the Feira Hippie, formally the Feira de Artesanato da Avenida Afonso Pena, which transforms the city’s main avenue into the largest open-air craft fair in Latin America. Every Sunday from around 7am to 2pm, nearly 2,200 stalls stretch for over a kilometre along Afonso Pena Avenue, from Praça 7 to the Palácio das Artes, drawing around 80,000 visitors from across the city and beyond.
The name comes from its origins in the 1970s countercultural scene, though today it encompasses far more than its founding spirit might suggest. Stalls are organised by colour-coded sectors: jewelry, clothing, leather goods, furniture, home decor, paintings, children’s toys, shoes, and a lively food court where you can eat your way through acarajé, pastéis, caldo de cana, and doce de leite desserts while the rest of the fair unfolds around you.
It is an excellent place to buy genuinely handmade souvenirs (ceramics, textiles, leather goods, jewellery, and paintings by local artists) at prices that reward a little patience and negotiation. Go early for the best selection and the cooler temperatures; the market gets crowded and hot by midday. Comfortable shoes are essential, and keeping an eye on your belongings in the busier sections is advisable. Entry is free. Budget: whatever you let yourself spend.
Avenida Afonso Pena, Centro, Belo Horizonte — every Sunday, approximately 7am to 2pm
Belo Horizonte is the main gateway into the state, served by Confins International Airport (CNF), which has direct connections to Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and several international destinations. From Belo Horizonte, a rental car is by far the most practical way to explore the wider state: both Serra do Cipó and Inhotim are within two hours, and having your own transport opens up the colonial towns and natural areas that make Minas Gerais so rewarding. Uber works well within Belo Horizonte itself for the city-based experiences.
All recommendations are based on personal visits and the guidance of someone who knows Minas Gerais the way only a native can.
