Parrot Peak
The town's emblem.
Ofini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gilcimar Soares Liberato — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ofini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ofini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ofini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ofini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ofini — CC BY-SA 4.0
Aiuruoca is a small mountain town of about six thousand people in southern Minas Gerais, at 989 metres at the foot of the Pico do Papagaio, the «Parrot Peak» that has become its emblem, in the Mantiqueira highlands near São Lourenço. Its name comes from Tupi and means «house of the purple-breasted parrot»; early explorers are said to have named the place after a rock full of holes where parrots nested. It was officially founded in 1706 by João de Siqueira Afonso, who discovered its gold mines, making it one of the oldest settlements of the mining region. Its lands include part of the Serra do Papagaio State Park, created in 1998, which holds the 2,105-metre Parrot Peak along with many waterfalls and trails. In the 1920s Danish immigrants in its countryside laid the foundations of Brazil's famous queijo prato cheese.
The town's emblem.
In Serra do Papagaio.
A Danish legacy.
Aiuruoca, southern Minas Gerais state
About an hour by car.