Mantiqueira train
To the tunnel.
Jimfotografia — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gabrielrvallim — CC BY-SA 3.0 · EdersondeCarvalho — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fred Mendonca — CC BY 3.0 · Jimfotografia — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Whaldener Endo — CC0
Passa Quatro is a small spa town of about 16,000 people in southern Minas Gerais, near the Mantiqueira range and a short drive from São Lourenço; it is a mineral-water resort and a destination for eco and rural tourism. In the seventeenth century bandeirante expeditions crossed the Garganta do Embaú pass on its border with São Paulo state, among them Fernão Dias in 1674, and the area came to lie on the road between São Paulo and the gold regions of Minas. Its name is said to come from instructions to cross a river four times. Its best-known outing is the Serra da Mantiqueira tourist train, which climbs from the town station to the railway tunnel near the top of the range, scene of military clashes during the 1932 revolution. Mountains, waterfalls, a national forest and farms to visit fill its land.
To the tunnel.
And national forest.
A spa.
Passa Quatro, southern Minas Gerais state
From the town station to the railway tunnel near the top of the Mantiqueira.