Plenty of people arrive in Cambará do Sul for the canyons and discover, between one viewpoint and the next, that the village is an attraction in its own right: up in the Campos de Cima da Serra, at 1,000 meters, the Rio Grande do Sul highlands turn into a landscape of araucária pines, dry-stone walls, horses grazing in the frost and chimarrão steaming on a farmhouse veranda. The “capital of the canyons” has a country soul — and knows how to share it.
Getting there and where to stay
Around 190 km from Porto Alegre (the last stretches a scenic mountain road), the compact village concentrates the guesthouses, the colonial tea rooms and the agencies. The charm lies in the century-old farms around it that have become rural accommodation — nights around an open fire, DOP-certified queijo serrano and a starry highland sky.
The canyons (the famous neighbors)
This is where visits to the Itaimbezinho and the Fortaleza set off — we have devoted a full guide to each (and a comparison to help you choose). The local rule: canyons in the morning, fields in the afternoon.
What to do beyond the canyons
- Highland horse rides — hours in the saddle across the fields with genuine gaúcho guides, rounded off with mate and tall tales.
- Cachoeira dos Venâncios — the Rio Camisas dropping over basalt platforms, with walkways.
- Estrada do Faxinal — the most photogenic araucária corridor in the South, especially in the frost.
- Queijo serrano and colonial tea rooms — the gastronomic heritage of the Campos de Cima, straight from the farms.
- Winter outings — white frost across the fields at dawn: the “European winter”, gaúcho edition.
When to go
April to August: clear skies for the canyons, scenic frosts and wood-stove cold. Spring: flowering fields and full waterfalls. Always: get up early for the viewpoints (the mist does not forgive latecomers) and book the farms well ahead.
🥾 Who is it for?
Effort: light in the village, on the farms and at the viewpoints; the heavy adventures live in the neighboring canyons. Children: farms with animals + gentle horse rides = a highland party (4-5+). Older travelers and people with reduced mobility: a welcoming destination — single-story farmhouses, drives across the fields and an accessible Itaimbezinho 30 minutes away; the cold needs planning, gaúcho hospitality takes care of the rest.
