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Ouro Preto is not made of
golden stories alone. Nature has been equally
generous and demanded its own quota of sacrifice
as well. Gold, in this instance, becomes only
an additional stuffing, in a landscape revealing
many more riches. Beautiful valleys, splendorous
scenic overviews, endless water springs. A lost
paradise among the legends.
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Conquering this paradise was a
difficult and risky adventure. The first bandeirantes
went into the unknown territory starting from São
Paulo following up existing rivers. Men usually in
rotten clothing amidst an idyllic environment. Dense
forests, mountains that went down and no sooner went
up again vertiginously. Many people visit Ouro Preto
and get enchanted with its architecture and legends.
However, it is necessary to go far beyond if one
really wants to know all the sacrifice that went
along with the discovery.
Strolling the outskirts of
Ouro Preto provides the answers. Waterfalls
that once certainly mitigated the fatigue of
historical personages spread all around.
Scenic overviews give us an ample panorama
of what had been the harshness of the
challenge. How could those unsophisticated
and crude men know for sure where exactly
the gold was? Many of the explored mines
are only small holes carved in rock faults completely unspotted by the unattentive passer-by. It is a fact of history that gold was first found in the riverbeds. Rio das Velhas, one of the most important river of Minas Gerais - both in a historical and geographical point of view - has its spring in Ouro Preto grounds. In the formidable valley of Tripuí creek the first samples of the coming eldorado were found. Rivers, with secular bridges, snake along their ways everywhere.
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Twelve distinctive rural districts
make up the territory county of Ouro Preto today.
Many of them had only a second role in the
unrolling of history as compared to the central county seat of Vila Rica but at moments they also played leading parts in the Golden Saga. They keep flavored secrets and most of the natural beauties of the territory. They make possible to understand how Old Vila Rica was made up and give a glimpse of the paths followed by the conquerors. Discovering waterfalls, exploring deep valleys, escalating mountain tops like Itacolomi (the reference geographical point of the old travellers)... All of this is much more than a delight; it is an exercise of history, a classroom in the open sky. Natural wonders or man-made wonders, as the dams of Santa Rita and Custódio. Whether the streets of Vila Rica hide their secrets, the riverbeds do the same, for it was here that the first rumors began, where tales turned into reality.
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