8th IWA Specialist Group Conference on Waste Stabilization Ponds

DATE: April 26 to 30, 2009 - VENUE: Belo Horizonte/MG

TOURIST INFORMATION

Belo Horizonte - aerial view

Belo Horizonte, capital of Minas Gerais State, is one of the largest Brazilian cities, with a population around 2.5 million people. Belo Horizonte was the first planned city in the country, and is a relatively young city (slightly more than one hundred years). Despite the size of a large city, with downtown area taken by skyscrapers, the city can preserve one of the best indicators of quality of life in Latin America.

Belo Horizonte is located inland in the Southeast region, approximately 500 km from the coast and from the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The city is well connected with direct flights from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (around one hour flight), whose airports receive most of the international flights. There is also a direct flight from Lisbon, Portugal.

Belo Horizonte is surrounded by gentle mountains and has an altitude between 800 and 900 m above sea level. The city is also known by the mild and pleasant weather throughout the year, with an average temperature of 21oC. In late April, time of the conference, mean values of minimum, average and maximum temperatures are, respectively: 16o C, 20o C, 26o C The dry season is from April to September, and the rainy season, from October to March. Mean precipitation values in April are 80 mm/month.

Belo Horizonte - Pampulha Lake and São Francisco Church

The main attractions in the city are the Architectural Complex of Pampulha (designed by the world famous architect Oscar Niemeyer, who also designed the capital city of Brasilia), the Liberty square (Praça da Liberdade), the Park of Mangabeiras, the football stadium "Mineirão", the large handicraft fair on Sunday mornings, gem stone shops, local museums, churches and shopping centres. Belo Horizonte has dozens of cinemas and theatres and a large quantity of pleasant bars and restaurants that make its night one of the best in the country.

Near Belo Horizonte are situated the historical towns of Ouro Preto, Mariana, Sao João del Rey, Tiradentes, Congonhas and Diamantina. These towns have colonial style architecture and churches with golden altars, reminiscent from the period in which Brazil was a colony from Portugal and gold production was one of the main sources of income. Ouro Preto, located at a distance around 100 km, was one of the first towns in the world to be given the status of World Heritage by UNESCO. In some of these towns the works of Aleijadinho ("the Crippled"), from 18th century, can be appreciated. He was the most famous Brazilian sculptor, and was still able to carve his statues even though illness brought him a deficiency in his hands.

Rural tourism is also an important option in the area, with inns and hotels that offer the best atmosphere of old farms. Tourism also has the option of walks in trails and waterfalls, and also visits to caves (Maquiné, Rei do Mato and Lapinha).

Ouro Preto - Museum and church

Outside the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil offers a large array of superb attractions, such as the city of Rio de Janeiro, the hundreds of beaches along Brazilian coast line, the Amazon forest, Iguazu falls and many more items that can be combined with your trip to Belo Horizonte.

News

• 8 May 2009

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