Sao Francisco de Paula Attractions

Cascata da Ronda

2km/1.3mi from the town on the road to Cambará do Sul is the Cascata da Ronda (waterfall).

Passa da Ilha

On the way to Bom Jesus (73km/45mi north) is the Passo da Ilha, a 200m/220yd long slab of rock over which the water plunges.

Passo do S

7km/4.5mi beyond this, after crossing the broad but shallow Rio Tainhas, is the Passo do S, a small-scale version of the Iguaçu Falls.

Artificial lakes

The lakes of Salto (23km/14mi) and Blang (24km/15mi), on the Rio Caí, offer good bathing and fishing. Blang is reached from the old road to Canela, Salto from the new one.

Fortaleza

95km/59mi north-east of São Francisco de Paula (reached by way of Cambará do Sul), above a yawning abyss with sheer walls up to 900m/3000ft high, the great crag known as the Fortaleza ("Fortress"), rears up amid luxuriant vegetation at the end of the Serra Geral. On clear days the view from the top extends to the coast at Torres.