What to Do in Cunha: Waterfalls and Trails

Cunha — what can I even say about this town? I fell completely in love with it! At first, we were only headed there for a trail running race organized by Move Eventos, but once I started researching the town, I suddenly wanted to see everything.

With the feel of a small inland town, Cunha has surprisingly good tourist infrastructure. The nature of the Paraíba Valley is everywhere, giving the town a romantic charm, and it also has restaurants, charming bistros, mountaintop inns, and trails past waterfalls and parks that will genuinely surprise you.

Cunha is considered the land of ceramic artists, vintage Volkswagen Beetles, and Brazil’s largest production of pinhão (araucaria pine nuts).

Fun facts about Cunha

The climate is wonderfully pleasant — warm mornings, cool nights, and the calm pace of a small inland São Paulo town. Cunha sits close to the Quebra-Cangalha, Bocaina, and Serra do Mar mountain ranges, at 1,010 meters of altitude, with gorgeous views over the valleys.

The town was founded in 1724, in an area that during colonial times was called Facão before becoming Cunha. It served as the last stop for the tropeiros (mule train traders), who traveled along trails once used by Indigenous peoples, passing through the Estrada Real (Royal Road) on the way to the port of Paraty.

It developed as part of the old gold route, since it sat along the required path to “Minas Gerais” (literally “General Mines”).

Today, officially designated Estância Climática de Cunha (a state-recognized “climate resort town”), it has a charming urban core with all the calm of a small interior town. The biggest fun fact about Cunha: it doesn’t have a single traffic light!

The town holds several festivals throughout the year: cultural celebrations, the Summer Festival, the Pinhão Festival, the Winter Festival, the Lamb Food Festival, Christmas Lights, and the Ceramics Festival.

Getting to Cunha

Right on the border of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo states, Cunha sits high in the Paraíba Valley, just 230 km from the city of São Paulo and 300 km from Rio de Janeiro.

From São Paulo:

• Take the Dutra highway to the Guaratinguetá exit, then BR-459 (Rodovia Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira) to Cunha. See the Dutra route on Google Maps.
• A slightly longer alternative is Ayrton Senna + Carvalho Pinto + Dutra highways to Cunha — see the map here.

Pros and cons:

• Dutra (223 km / 3h10m) — fewer lanes, more trucks, fewer tolls.
• Ayrton Senna (233 km / 3h10m) — more lanes, fewer trucks, more tolls; similar time and distance overall.

What we chose: Dutra — the trip took 3h40m, including traffic and one stop.

Best time to visit Cunha

Fall and winter are high season. With cooler temperatures, a lower chance of rain, and the town’s main festival (the Pinhão Festival), it’s a great time to visit.

Summer is quieter, and it’s a great time to enjoy the waterfalls, but there’s a higher risk of rain and flash floods.

Between April and October, temperatures are milder overall, making it a good window for a visit.

If you’re heading to Lavandário, note that while lavender blooms there year-round, the flowers are fullest in fall and spring.

Around holidays, the town gets noticeably busier, but it never loses its charm.

Where to stay in Cunha

We chose B&B Sol Poente — simple, but the owner’s hospitality was excellent, and breakfast was delicious.

What to do in Cunha

Pedra da Macela

• Moderate trail difficulty
• 6 km round trip
• 476 m of elevation gain
• View of Paraty
• Free parking and entry
• In our opinion, the most beautiful spot in Cunha

We got up early to explore the town, starting with Pedra da Macela — the trail up is actually fully paved. And the view of Paraty truly is beautiful! You’ll need clear, sunny weather to see the whole coastline, so check the forecast before heading out. Since the road there is unpaved, we’d again recommend a 4x4. Parking is right by the gate where the climb begins.

Download the GPX file for the climb up to Pedra da Macela.

Track powered by Wikiloc

Cervejaria Wolkenburg

• Local brewery
• What to order: sausage and beer
• Great pick if you’re into beer and German-style food

On the way back, we stopped at Cervejaria Wolkenburg, where the beer was “okay” and we tried German-style sausages. There are 4 varieties and 3 kinds of sauces, plus the option to order all four together on one plate. Andrey really liked the spicy sauce — and every opinion on that front is his, since he actually knows what he’s talking about!

Lavandário

• Cost: R$20 per person
• Lavender fields, a shop with lavender products, and a small snack bar
• We expected it to be more impressive
• Lavender-based products available: teas and ice cream

Continuing back toward town, we stopped at Lavandário, where you can drive up and park close to the lavender fields.

Just past the parking area, there’s a spot to sit and take in the view — the mountain views are gorgeous! We’d read a lot of recommendations to catch sunset there, but we still wanted to make it to Cachoeira dos Pimentas, so we didn’t stick around for it.

We tried the lavender chocolate ice cream and lavender tea — honestly, neither one was great! Still worth trying once, though, since it’s a local specialty you won’t find just anywhere.

The lavender flowers start opening in early summer. I’d guess that’s the best time to visit, though late in the year — November and December — is when it’s in fullest bloom. Honestly, though, I think it’s worth a visit any time of year.

Cachoeira do Pimenta

• Short, easy trail
• Free entry and parking
• Great for cooling off from the heat
• Parking right next to the waterfall

You’ll need to head back toward town and take another dirt road to reach Cachoeira do Pimenta! There’s a small snack bar near the waterfall with food and drinks.

Nossa Senhora da Conceição Parish

In downtown Cunha, the Nossa Senhora da Conceição parish church is well worth a visit.

Fazenda Aracatu

Located on the road between Cunha and Paraty, this farm sells sustainably produced regional goods.

The farm store serves coffee and snacks, and also produces and sells pasteurized Jersey cow milk and its byproducts — fresh and aged cheeses, fine cheeses, yogurt, and more.

Where to eat in Cunha

Doceria da Cidinha

• A must-stop, especially if you have a sweet tooth
• Brazilian bakery/sweets shop

On the way back from the waterfall, we explored downtown, which is genuinely charming, and stopped at Doceria da Cidinha. We highly recommend grabbing something sweet there — delicious, and every calorie was worth it.

Veríssima Bistrô

• À la carte restaurant
• Tasty food, but small portions
• Menu mixes Brazilian and international dishes

After dessert, we looked for somewhere to have dinner, since we hadn’t eaten much all day, and settled on Veríssima Bistrô that evening. The food was good and the service was solid, though Andrey found the portions small and ended up grabbing a snack downtown afterward. If you’re hungry or tend to eat a lot, we’d suggest ordering an appetizer before the main course.

We turned in early, since we had the race the next day.

Restaurante Dona Dita

• Self-service restaurant
• Brazilian food, with vegetarian options
• We really liked the food

We had lunch at Restaurante Dona Dita after the race — self-service, with a wide variety of hot dishes and salads all at once. After lunch, we headed back to São Paulo.

Ateliê da Cerveja Caminho do Ouro in Cunha

One tip: along the old Estrada Real, stop for coffee at the Ateliê and pick up some house-brewed craft beer to try. There’s also a small shop with local and regional products.

They sell several kinds of tasty sandwiches made with barley bread, which is delicious, and we’d especially recommend the hot chocolate, which is nice and rich. Andrey also tried the beer and enjoyed it.

Move Eventos

• Trail running race organizer

We thought the Move race was really well organized — there are several stretches where you can actually open up and run. I took first place overall in the women’s category, and Andrey placed third in his age group, wrapping up our Cunha weekend on a high note.

Download the GPX file for the 11 km Cunha Move Trail.

Now that you know all about our trip to Cunha, read more about our adventures at Cantareira State Park (in Portuguese) on the original blog.