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as it may seem amid the skyscrapers of Avenida Afonso Pena, the city
limits are only a short bus ride away to the south. Here, the urban sprawl
is abruptly cut off by the steep hills of the Serra do Curral, a
natural barrier that forces the city to expand in other directions. The
slopes are the site of a huge nature reserve, the 600-hectare Parque
das Mangabeiras (Tues–Sun 8am–6pm; free), where you can walk along
forest paths that open out now and again to reveal spectacular views of
the city below. To get there, catch the blue #2001-C bus, marked
“Aparecida”, from Avenida Afonso Pena between Avenida Amazonas and Rua
Tamóios: it’s a fifteen-minute steep drive to the terminus above the
park entrance. When returning to the city, you can avoid having to climb
back up to the main entrance by leaving the park through the small
northern gate, much lower down, and catching the #6001 bus just outside. |
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| The
park is so big it has its own internal bus service; buses leave
every thirty minutes from the left of the entrance, and end up there again
twenty minutes later after making a circuit of the park. Near the entrance
is a well-kept leisure area, with fountains, rows of lanchonetes
and an open-air amphitheatre, the Teatro de Arena, where something
often happens on Sundays. The best view of the city is from the Mirante
da Mata viewing platform, a twenty-minute walk from the entrance; the
finest walks are along the nature trails and streams of the Parque
Florestal, a little further along. Maps of the park are
available from the park office near the main entrance.
Mirante da Cidade |
| The
single most spectacular view of the city is from the Mirante da Cidade,
outside the park, largely hidden by trees behind the palatial governor’s
residence. Take the #2001-C bus for Mangabeiras (or the #2001-A), but get
off just before at Praça do Papa, and walk east up the steep Rua Bady
Salum for a short kilometre. The view is splendid: too high up for the
grime and favelas to register (although pollution can obscure
things on a bad day), it makes Belo Horizonte seem like Los Angeles, an
impression reinforced if you go by night, when the carpet of lights below
really is magnificent. |
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