Nova Friburgo in Brazil

This town, standing at 846 m in a beautiful valley with excellent walking and riding, is a popular resort during the summer months. It was founded by Swiss settlers from Fribourg, the first families arriving in 1820. Apart from tourism, Nova Friburgo has an important textile industry, specializing in lingerie, and also produces cheeses, preserves, sweets and liqueurs.

A cable car, from Praça dos Suspiros goes 650 m up the

, for a magnificent view of the rugged country. Most of the interesting sites are in the surrounding countryside, so a car may be necessary to see everything. About 10 km northeast are the

, an area of forest, caves, waterfalls and rock formations, one of which is called the

(The Seated Dog). Other natural attractions are the

(2310 m) 15 km southwest, and the

, 9 km north.

The district of

, 34 km southeast, has beautiful scenery, waterfalls, natural swimming pools and good canoeing in the Rio Macaé and Rio Bonito. These two rivers meet at a point called

, or Poço Verde, 4.5 km south of Lumiar.