At 1,360 meters, high in the Serra Catarinense, São Joaquim collects Brazilian superlatives: it is the national capital of the apple (one in every four in the country is grown here), it sees snow in practically every winter and it leads the revolution in high-altitude wines — sparkling wines and reds that collect international awards. Highlands, flavor and real cold at the same address.
Getting there
Around 230 km from Florianópolis, with the climb up the range as a piece of road theatre in itself (pair it with neighboring Urubici, 60 km away, for the complete highland itinerary). A car is essential; in winter, monitor the roads — frost and snow are part of the package.
What to do
- High-altitude wineries — Villa Francioni, D’Alture, Leone di Venezia and their neighbors, with tours and tastings (~R$ 65) among vineyards above 1,300 m (full article: high-altitude wines).
- The apple harvest — from January to March the orchards open for picking straight off the tree; the Festa Nacional da Maçã celebrates the crop.
- Winter as spectacle — daily frosts, frozen ponds in the square and the snow lottery (one or two episodes a year that stop the country).
- Monumental araucárias — the region keeps giant century-old specimens, the postcards of the plateau.
- Snow Valley and viewpoints — an adventure park and views over the highland sea of hills.
When to go
June to August for maximum cold (book MONTHS ahead if you want to chase snow); January to March for the apple harvest and the vintage, with milder days. All year round: highland cooking (pinhão, trout, lamb) and glasses from altitude beside the fireplace.
🥾 Who is it for?
Effort: light — a destination of wineries, orchards and viewpoints reached by car. Children: picking an apple off the tree and (with luck) seeing your first snow = memories for life. Older travelers and people with reduced mobility: very suitable — wineries with modern, accessible facilities, seated tastings and landscapes framed by a window; the intense cold is the only adversary (layers plus a heater in the car).