Gramado and Canela: Cascata do Caracol + Cities Downtown! Itinerary Day 3!

Cascata do Caracol.

Another day in Gramado and Canela, how lucky, right? If you missed my itinerary for the first and second days at these cities you can check it out on the links below:

Gramado and Canela: Things to do! Itinerary Day 1!

Gramado and Canela: Snowland + Lago Negro! Itinerary Day 2!

But now, focus on a new itinerary for a new day. As soon as we woke up and got ready, the first attraction we visited was...

PARQUE DA SERRA

In Canela there is this amazing 130 meters high waterfall called Cascata do Caracol. And you have two options to see it: through cable cars at Parque da Serra or through a trek at Parque do Caracol. We chose the first option. 😊

At Parque da Serra the main attraction are the cable cars. While in the cable cars you can see the waterfall from a distance. The park has three stations. You leave from the central station, where it's already possible to see the waterfall. At this station there are some stores and also bathrooms.

Cable cars.

Once you get in a cable car you will hop off at the animal station where you will find a small path where you can see some native tree species with identification sings and also signs with information about the flora and fauna.

By the end of this path there is an exhibition with wood animal sculptures that make the same noise as the real animal when you slide wooden sticks on the sculptures. These are called speaking sculptures. And it is very nice and impressive, I can not imagine how difficult it is to sculpt something that makes an animal noise.

Speaking sculptures - owl.

You have to get in a cable car again to go to the last station, the waterfall station. Where there is a viewpoint to the waterfall and a souvenir store. And as you can see from the opening picture of this post the waterfall is really beautiful.

To ride the cable cars we paid R$ 39,00 with a discount. Nowadays (February 2020), the price is R$ 46,00, but you can get the ticket for R$ 42,00 if you buy it at Laçador de Ofertas website.

At this park there is also a zip line called Eagle. I didn't try it, but the current price for two people is R$ 30,00.

As I mentioned, there is a second park from where you can see the waterfall, Parque do Caracol. I didn't have this experience, but from what I've read in this park there are several treks and one of them ends in a viewpoint from where you can see the waterfall. I think from here you can get a closer look of it.

EU 💗 CANELA SIGN

From the park we drove back to Canela and made a pit stop at the "Eu 💗 Canela" sign. This sign is located just in front of the Museu do Automóvel (Automobile Museum), at this address: Praça das Nações, 281.

"Eu 💗 Canela" sign.

We didn't visit the museum. There are many museums in Gramado and Canela and it's very expensive to visit them all. So we focused on the attractions that interested us the most.

CANELA DOWNTOWN

Next stop was Canela downtown. The city is small so it's nice to walk around and get lost in this part of the city. The main attraction there was Catedral de Pedra (Stone Cathedral). In an English Gothic style this cathedral is really amazing. The tower is 65 meters high and in 2010 it was elected as one of the seven Brazilian wonders.

Catedral de Pedra.

Around the cathedral there are MANY souvenirs stores. So if you haven't bought anything by now this is your opportunity. If you continue walking in the main area of the city you will also find some small chocolate stores.

MUNDO A VAPOR

On our way back to Gramado, where we were staying, we stopped at Mundo a Vapor (Steam World). I loved this museum. Firstly, because at the entrance there is a real size train getting out of the building. This is actually a reconstruction of the accident that happened in Paris in 1895.

Mundo a Vapor entrance.

At the museum you learn a lot about what can be done with steam and how it's been used through the years. This is very nice, because it's divided in stations and at each station there is a guide explaining the whole production process and even the history behind it.

For example, there is the smallest paper factory of the world inside this museum. At this station the guide explains the whole paper production process and shows how paper is made. By the end evryone in the audience gets a small piece of the paper that was just manufactured. Once again: I LOVED it.

Nowadays the tickets cost R$ 36,00 if you buy on their website Mundo a Vapor. It also includes a train ride around the museum, which is nothing spectacular.

GRAMADO DOWNTOWN

Back in Gramado, we decided to walk in the city center. We got in all the chocolate stores we saw, to get free chocolate samples and buy gifts. Hahahaha. We also stopped by Igreja Matriz São Pedro (a church) and by Fonte do Amor Eterno (Eternal Love's Fountain), which is by the side of the church and has many padlocks of the lovebirds around it.

Fonte do Amor Eterno.

Then we passed through Rua Coberta (Covered Street), which is a street with a ceiling and ended up in #instaGramado, a house with many Instagram scenarios to take pictures. The entrance was free of charge in 2019, we just had to answer a few questions, because the space was an initiative of a hotel and they were making a survey about the tourists. This place is in the street corner of Avenida Borges de Medeiros and Rua Senador Salgado Filho.

#instaGramado.

ALPINE LA TABLE - WHERE TO EAT

For dinner we chose the restaurant Alpine la Table, which I highly recommend! I ate a cheese soup inside the bread for R$ 19,90 and it was amazing. But I paid this price because I had a coupon, the original price was R$ 44,00.

Cheese soup inside the bread.

At this restaurant they also serve fondue!

P.S: The prices mentioned refer to March 2019.