Coronel Xavier Chaves

This city is home to well preserved mansions, passos da paixão (steps of the Passion), the beautiful Matriz de Nossa Senhora de Conceição, and a quirky stone chapel dedicated to Nossa Senhora do Rosário. Top quality cachaça is produced in an 18^th century mill that belonged to Father Domingos, brother of the inconfidente mineiro (conspirator) Tiradentes. Agriculture, a traditional practice in the region, is the basis of the local economy, and every year traditional cattle shows are held. The Rio das Mortes (River of the Dead) and the River Carandaí cut through the city, where the tallest bridge of the São José Sierra is located, measuring 1,430 metres. Coronel Xavier Chaves also has a great number of viaducts and tunnels made from railway steel, a real temptation for adventurers and lovers of canyoneering and extreme excursions.