By Catherine Balston
Anyone who dreams of a vacation in Brazil is likely thinking of a roaring carnival or endless stretches of sea and sand. And with 4,600 miles of Atlantic coastline, there’s certainly no lack of beaches from which to choose. But turn your back on the ocean, and you’ll find another kind of water wonderland: an extraordinary wealth of rivers, wetlands, and waterfalls, in a country that boasts the largest supply of fresh water in the world. This is Caldas Novas, in the Central-West of Brazil, a destination teeming with natural hot springs and water parks.
Brazil’s Signature Spirit
When the sun sets over the water at the end of the day, join the locals in enjoying an altogether different kind of warming liquid in Caldas Novas: cachaça, a sugarcane spirit almost as old as Brazil. Cachaça is best known as the base for caipirinhas, but the aged versions deserve to be savored straight.
At Cachaçaria Vale das Águas Quentes distillery, organic sugarcane is grown on-site and its juice then fermented and distilled in copper stills. Their Cachaça Barril 12 is aged in oak barrels for eight years and has scooped a handful of national awards. It’s the perfect memento to take home, along with a clutch of wonderful memories and a new spring in your step.
Catherine Balston is a food and travel writer, who has explored far and wide across Brazil after 15 years of calling it home. She has authored travel guides for Wallpaper, Louis Vuitton, and Fodor’s, and loves Carnival, sunshine, and tropical rain.
