Travel Guide Diamantina

Diamantina, a city of 48,230 inhabitants at an altitude of almost 1,300 metres, is considered the third wonder of Minas' historic cities, along with Ouro Preto and Tiradentes. Although Diamantina was officially founded in 1831, it was built quickly after the discovery of diamonds in the Jequitinhonha river region in 1722. The starting point of the Caminho dos Diamantes, the old diamond route from Estrada Real to Ouro Preto, Diamantina is today a charming little colonial town, surrounded by Christ-like mountains. The town's isolation, a 5-hour drive from Belo Horizonte, has protected it from uncontrolled tourist development. The town doesn't seem to have changed much since the diamond era. The beautiful colonial mansions have now become charming pousadas. The inhabitants have preserved their cultural heritage. Diamantina offers visitors popular music shows such as the Vesperatas and lavish religious processions.Listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1999, Diamantina is a city unlike any other, set in an incomparable landscape. Here you can admire vestiges of Mozarabic art, rare in Brazil. Although the churches are less spectacular than those in Ouro Preto, Diamantina's architecture is perhaps the best preserved of all the colonial towns in Minas. It is also the birthplace of Juscelino Kubitschek, the Brazilian president who built Brasilia.