EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

CANELA , 8km east of Gramado, down a road bordered on both sides by hydrangeas, is slightly lower, smaller and less commercialized, but otherwise, it's much like its neighbour. Canela offers little of particular beauty within its small urban area, but it is better situated for the Parque Estadual do Caracol (daily 8.30am-5.30pm), 8km to the north. You can reach the park by bus - marked "Caracol Circular" (4 daily) - which leaves from next to the old steam engine in the centre of Canela; get off at the restaurant-tourist complex in the park. From here, a path leads down to the foot of a waterfall, the park's main attraction, and other paths lead to different small falls at higher levels, from where there are panoramic views into the deep canyon of the Rio Caí. There's also a good campsite in the park.

Canela's Rodoviária is on the central main street, and there are regular buses here from Porto Alegre and Caxias do Sul. The tourist office , in Praça João Correia (Mon-Sat 8am-6pm, Sun 8am-1pm; tel 054/282-1287), tries to be helpful but is less useful than the one in Gramado.

There's a good youth hostel across the road from the Rodoviária at Rua Ernesta Urbani 132 (tel 054/282-2017; $8 per person), but over winter weekends and in the summer it can be difficult to find a bed. The cheapest hotel is the Turis Serra at Av. Osvaldo Aranha 160 (tel 054/282-2136; $10-20), while there are a number of small pousadas providing accommodation in cabins. The nicest of these is the Pousada Alpes Verdes, Rua Gilda Tanello Bolognese 1001 (tel 054/282-1162; $35-50), set in park-like gardens with a pool. The Grande Hotel Canela, Rua Getúlio Vargas 3000 (tel 054/282-1285; $50-70), has a carefully cultivated "old world" atmosphere with a beautiful garden and lake. Canela is home to the finest hotel in the state, the Laje de Pedra (tel 054/282-4300, fax 282-4400; $70-$125), and even if you're not staying you can visit for the spectacular views of the Rio Caí which snakes around in the valley below. There's a minibus from town which plies the three-kilometre route out to the hotel, where there's an expensive restaurant and a chimarrão salon where you can sip maté.