Canela
Encyclopedia
Canela, meaning Cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
in Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian, is a town located in the Serra Gaúcha
Serra Gaúcha
The Serra Gaúcha, The Gaucho Highlands, is the mountainous region in the northeastern portion of Rio Grande do Sul state in southern Brazil. This mountainous region is home to many Brazilians of German and Italian descent...
of Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Both Canela and neighboring Gramado
Gramado
Gramado is a municipality and small touristic town, southeast of Caxias do Sul and east of Nova Petrópolis in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the Serra Gaúcha region. Most of the population of Gramado is of German or Italian descent...
are important tourist resorts and they both draw many visitors each year. Ecotourism
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
is very popular in the area and there are many opportunities for hiking, rock climbing, horseback riding and river rafting. The main tourist attraction in Canela is the Parque do Caracol, the Cathedral of Stone, and Caracol Falls
Caracol Falls
Caracol Falls, or Cascata do Caracol, is a 426-foot waterfall about from Canela, Brazil in Caracol State Park . It is formed by the Caracol River and cuts out of basalt cliffs in the Serra Geral mountain range, falling into the Vale da Lageana...
(Cascata do Caracol).
Like sister town Gramado, Canela is a large tourist draw during the winter, where snowfall can occur, and during the Christmas holiday and the local town council deck Canela with lights and other festive decorations.
Canela is part of the Rota Romântica
Rota Romântica
The Rota Romântica is a scenic tourist route that runs through 13 municipalities located in the mountainous Serra Gaúcha region of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The area was first colonized by German immigrants in the first half of the 19th century...
or Romantic Route, a touristic scenic bypass.