The observatory
On the summit.
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Brazópolis is a small town of about 14,000 people in southern Minas Gerais, near Itajubá and the Mantiqueira range; once called São Caetano da Vargem Grande, it was renamed after Venceslau Brás, ninth President of the Republic and the area's best-known son. The Puri people lived here until the sixteenth century; bandeirantes then came seeking gold and gems, and when the few mines ran out the people turned to farming. Today it is known for very sweet «prata» bananas and for handicrafts made from banana-trunk fibre. Its best-known sight is the Pico dos Dias astronomical observatory on a mountain top, run by the National Astrophysics Laboratory and home to one of Brazil's largest optical telescopes. The Mantiqueira mountains, trails and waterfalls surround it.
On the summit.
Very sweet.
Trails and falls.
Brazópolis, southern Minas Gerais state
Yes, on set dates; check ahead.