Minas da Passagem

Minas Gerais


Halfway between Ouro Preto and Mariana, this ancient gold mine was founded by the Portuguese in 1719 and definitively decommissioned in 1985. Guided tours descend in a rickety antique cable car, covering the mine’s history and local gold-extraction methods, then visiting a subterranean lake and a shrine to the many black slaves who died here dynamiting into the rock. Any Ouro Preto–Mariana bus can drop you here (R$4.45, 15 minutes from either town).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Minas Gerais attractions

1. Igreja NS do Carmo

1.6 MILES

On Mariana's central square, this church was severely damaged by fire in 1999, but still retains its original rococo chancel (the only element to have…

2. Igreja São Francisco de Assis

1.63 MILES

Mariana's loveliest church was designed by Aleijadinho, whose work can also be seen in the pulpits and other interior details. The gorgeous ceiling panels…

3. Praça Gomes Freire

1.64 MILES

One block downhill from Praça Minas Gerais, this leafy square is an inviting place to sit and watch the world go by, with a pond, a gazebo and park…

5. Catedral Basílica da Sé

1.71 MILES

The star attraction at Mariana's cathedral is its fantastic German organ dating from 1701, painted with designs from the then-Portuguese colony of Macau…

6. Capela do Padre Faria

3.42 MILES

Built between 1701 and 1704 and named after one of the original bandeirantes (roaming adventurers who spent the 17th and 18th centuries exploring Brazil’s…

7. Igreja de Santa Efigênia dos Pretos

3.68 MILES

Financed by gold from Chico-Rei’s mine and built by the slave community, this mid-18th-century church honors Santa Efigênia, princess of Nubia. The…

8. Oratório Vira-Saia

3.86 MILES

This is the most famous of several oratórios (glass-encased niches containing images of saints) built on street corners around town by early-18th-century…

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