Valença is a municipality in Vale do Café that breathes History, Culture, Music and Natural Beauty. The city has historic houses and farms from the 19th century. The beautiful parish church of Nossa Senhora da Glória, its patroness, the Silvio Caldas, Nelson Gonçalves and Casa Léa Pentagna Museums. Birthplace of musical names such as Clementina de Jesus and Rosinha de Valença.

The natural beauties of Valença are countless: waterfalls, belvederes and trails of the three mountain ranges that are around the city, that of Beleza much sought after by Ufologists due to the appearance of UFOs, that of Muscats and that of Concórdia where the State Park is located and the Açude da Concórdia Municipal Natural Park

The District of Conservatória, known as the city of Serestas, stands out for its historic houses, where each little house has a plaque with the names of composers of Brazilian popular music, the charming Old Railway Station, the Tunnel que Chora and the Ponte dos Arches are unmissable tours. The Seresta Museum with a vast collection of paintings, photos, instruments and lyrics, the Vicente Celestino and Gilda de Abreu Museum, the Teatro Sonora and the Cine Centimeter, an identical replica of the extinct Cine Metro Tijuca, the Marco do Tempo space, a small studio where you can take period photographs and still walk the streets and find the rich local crafts, cachaça, sweets and dairy products.

Get to know the Quilombo community of São José da Serra, where African descendants from Congo, Guinea and Angola live. With its cultural manifestations and traditions.

Barão de Juparanã (in Tupi Guarani, Juparanã means Big River) is an idyllic city of no more than 5,000 inhabitants, very close to the center of Vassouras, on the banks of the Paraíba do Sul River. Its Church, dedicated to Nossa Senhora do Patrocínio, attracts culture and sports devotees from all over Brazil. 

Two farms near the center stand out. Fazenda Santa Mônica, where Duque de Caxias lived and died, today Embrapa headquarters, and the Manor of the former headquarters of Fazenda Monte Scylene, which belonged to Princess Isabel and Count D’Eu.

The Princess and her husband created a boarding school for minors that worked until recently, and was purchased by the State of Rio de Janeiro for restoration.

In April, the Feast of São Jorge attracts hundreds of horsemen from all over the Coffee Valley, who seek blessing and victory over the dragon.

But the tourism stars of the municipality are the beautiful parks. The first is the Serra da Concórdia State Park of almost 6000 hectares, with waterfalls, trails, viewpoints, camping infrastructure and a huge preserved vegetation of the Atlantic Forest.

A giant for those who love green.

Very close, the historic Municipal Park of Açude da Concórdia. The Park was built around 1890, in the days of Barão de Santa Monica. It has 23 hectares. Its main attraction is the Açude da Concórdia, which has 18 hectares of water mirror. For trekking, 12 well-marked trails in the Atlantic Forest, including Jequitibá, Bica da Rainha and Toca da Onça.

Still in Juparanã, “Jupa”, as it is affectionately called by its inhabitants, there are two beautiful bridges that adorn the river, built by the Barão de Juparanã in the 19th century to drain its coffee production and allow access to the railroad. The first is called Desengano (Disappointment), a name that indicates its origin: a challenge regarding the construction of the railway access to the city – its construction was a disappointment for the rival. The second is called Paraíso (Paradise) and can be seen from below on the road that goes to Sebastião de Lacerda.

A city of encounter with one of the greatest forces of nature: water. You can´t skip it!