Discover the Caraça Sanctuary (MG), home to maned wolves – 03/06/2024 – Tourism

In the Caraça Sanctuary, it is as if the maned wolves had a religion. All you have to do is finish the last mass of the day, around 7:30 pm, for them to start hanging around the little church in this reserve in the interior of Minas Gerais.

The wolves climb the old stone staircase and help themselves to the food left by the employees. Meanwhile, tourists gathered in a circle photograph them. Only later do the animals return to the darkness of the forest.

The scene repeats itself almost every day at the sanctuary, which is 120 kilometers from Belo Horizonte. It’s an option for those who want to get lost in the woods and forget about humanity. It’s worth the trip even if the maned wolf doesn’t even show its face.

The Caraça Sanctuary was founded in 1774 by a Portuguese religious man to be a guesthouse for pilgrims. He was not very successful in attracting colleagues and, when he died, he left the site to the Portuguese crown.

In 1820, there was another attempt to establish a temple. Priests founded the Colégio do Caraça, which educated young people in religion. The school operated for more than a century, until a fire destroyed part of the facilities in 1968.

The sanctuary is now a hotel with capacity for up to 230 people. The rooms, with high ceilings, are charming. The ceilings are decorated with straw weaves. Wooden floors evoke ancient stories.

The most impressive thing, however, is nature. Around the hotel there is a 12 thousand hectare reserve. The Caraça mountain range —which gives the place its name— adorns the entire horizon. It’s like a face, hence “caraça” (big face).

Such is the beauty of the mountains that Emperor Dom Pedro 2º, who passed through there in 1881, reportedly said that “only Caraça pays for the entire trip to Minas”. The impactful phrase appears in every corner of the sanctuary and in its information leaflets.

To check whether the monarch has exaggerated, it is a good idea to book accommodation in advance. The process is difficult. It seems like they never answer the phone. You need to send an email — and hope someone responds in time.

Prices vary according to the season. The reporter paid R$500 for a spacious room where, employees say, Empress Teresa Cristina stayed, who accompanied Dom Pedro.

The price includes breakfast, lunch and dinner. The meals, prepared on a wood-burning stove, are an attraction in themselves. Things like cheese bread, tropeiro beans and pumpkin jam are on the menu, all served as you like.

The car journey from Belo Horizonte to the Caraça Sanctuary takes just over two hours. The place is on the way to Ouro Preto, which is why it may be interesting to mix the two destinations on the same itinerary.

More interesting, however, is to travel by train. The railway between Belo Horizonte and Vitória —one of the only ones to transport passengers every day in Brazil over long distances—passes through the small town of Barão de Cocais, nearby.

The train leaves once a day, at 7am. The Dois Irmãos stop, in Barão de Cocais, is the first. The journey takes approximately 1h40. From the station, you need to take a taxi for the remaining 30 minutes (around R$120).

A third option is the bus that travels between Belo Horizonte and Santa Bárbara, for around R$40. The duration is unpredictable, however, ranging from 2h to 3h. It is also necessary to complete the journey by hiring a taxi.

Once at the sanctuary, it is possible to visit the ruins of old buildings, which date back to the 18th century. There is something magical about finding, in the middle of the forest, the remains of forgotten colonial buildings.

There are also several trails, some of them culminating in waterfalls or natural pools. One of the highlights is Cascatinha, a 40-meter-high triple waterfall 2 km from the hotel. It takes 30 minutes to walk.

It’s a shame that some of the trails are not maintained or marked well enough. The report found paths interrupted by submerged cliffs or fallen trees. It is good to be careful with slippery rocks and ravines.

Caution, in any case, is always necessary in nature. And there, nature is exceptional. This is because the sanctuary is in the transition between the Atlantic forest and the cerrado, mixing the plant formations of both.

With luck, visitors can see animals such as tapirs and wild dogs. Nothing is guaranteed, of course. It depends on the animal’s will — and the visitor’s silence. More common is the jacu, a curious bird with a red crop.

Finally, there is the maned wolf. It appears almost every night since, in 1982, a priest began leaving food outside the church. Since then, several generations of the animal have become accustomed to the ritual. Sometimes it brings back a shoot or two.

The maned wolf is not, strictly speaking, a wolf. It is a canid related to dogs and wolves. It is the only representative of the genus Chrysocyon. The “guará” in its name comes from the Tupi-Guarani word for “red”, the color of its fur.

The animal balances on thin legs painted black, as if it were wearing boots. Caraça employees say that he is suspicious and always worries about not being the victim of an ambush.

The Caraça Sanctuary calls “wolf hour” the time of day when, after mass, they place the mixture of meat and fruits to attract the animal. The night the reporter was there, the dish had bananas.

A hotel employee drags the iron plate across the floor, making noise to warn the wolf. From then on, the visit depends on luck. The animal comes almost every day. But sometimes he only comes in the early hours of the morning.

Guests sit in a circle in the church courtyard, on white-painted iron chairs, and wait. It’s a little annoying to depend on other people’s silence. In the meantime, the sanctuary offers popcorn and tea.

One by one, they give up waiting. Only the most insistent remained, protected from the cold with one of the blankets that (despite the clear rule) they removed from their rooms and dragged across the hotel floor.

Other animals may come. Wild dogs roam the parking lot. On some days of the month, even tapirs come to eat. During the firefly season, these insects fly around, turning on and off.

When he comes, the wolf climbs the stairs suspiciously. But, accustomed to the public, he uses his lunch box and allows himself to be photographed. He turns his back on the church portico, on the altar, and returns to his thousands of free acres.

CARAÇA SANTUARY

What is it

• The place was founded in 1774 by a Portuguese priest
• It operated as a religious school from 1820 until 1968
• It is now a hotel with capacity for 240 guests
• It is located within a reserve recognized by Ibama

accommodation

• The price varies depending on the season; but it’s around R$500

How to get

By car

• It is 120 km from Belo Horizonte to the Caraça Sanctuary

By train

• The train leaves Belo Horizonte at 7am, heading to Vitória
• The nearest stop is Dois Irmãos, in Barão de Cocais
• Round trip for R$44 in regular class and R$72 in business class
• From Dois Irmãos, you need to take a taxi (around R$120)

By bus

• There are options throughout the day between BH and Barão de Cocais
• The entire journey takes between 2h and 3h, depending on traffic.
• Round trip for around R$80 (Viação Pássaro Verde)

Wolf hour

• The maned wolf appears at night, and has no fixed time
• The hotel does not guarantee appearance; It is frequent, however, to see the animal, the suggestion is to stay more than one night