Ceramic studios
Wood-fired kilns.
Cunha is a mountain town in the upper Paraíba Valley of São Paulo state, on the road linking Paraty with the Dutra highway; parts of that road belonged to the «Estrada Real» along which Minas Gerais gold was carried to the coast. The municipality was founded in 1785, became a city in 1858, and is one of the state's recognised climate resorts. Since 1975 Cunha has become a major centre of stoneware ceramics, with traditional wood-fired «noborigama» kilns of Japanese design and many studios, earning it the title «Capital of Ceramics». Visitors also come for the lavender fields, the mild climate, the local food, the annual lamb festival and the craft shops. Hills and mountains surround the town, and nearby are the Cunha section of the Serra do Mar State Park and the Pedra da Macela peak. It makes a lovely stop on the road between São Paulo and Paraty.
Wood-fired kilns.
Purple hills.
A climate resort.
Upper Paraíba Valley, on the road between Paraty and the Dutra highway, São Paulo state
About an hour's drive over the mountains.