Gramado is a mountain town that has been styled, with great confidence, as a fairy-tale village, and it works. Chalet-style houses with steep roofs, window boxes of flowers, chocolate shops, fondue restaurants and neat gardens fill the centre, and the cool air at around eight hundred metres, so different from the heat of the coast, makes the whole thing feel more convincing. The hydrangeas that line the streets bloom in summer, and in winter the town sometimes has frost and, once in a while, a dusting of snow.
The town grew from a modest settlement of German and Italian farmers in the Serra Gaúcha, and became a tourist destination in the twentieth century, when Brazilians from the hot lowlands began to come up for the climate. It now hosts two big events: a film festival, held each August since 1973, which showcases Brazilian and Latin American cinema, and the Natal Luz, a long Christmas season with parades, lights and shows that draws a large crowd. At those times the streets are busy to the point of gridlock, and hotels are full months ahead.
Beside Gramado lies Canela, a slightly larger and less polished town, known for its stone cathedral and for the Caracol waterfall, which drops more than a hundred metres in a single plume in the middle of a forest park. The Black Lake, a small artificial lake in Gramado ringed by trees and with swan-shaped paddle boats, is a favourite stop, and the shops on the main street sell chocolates, knitwear and leather goods. It is pleasant, if commercial, and the quality of the chocolate is surprisingly high.
For riders, the road is the point. The RS-235 and the other roads that wind through the hills between Nova Petrópolis, Gramado and Canela are well maintained, with sweeping turns, tree-lined sections and gentle gradients. On weekdays outside the holidays, it is a lovely ride. On holiday weekends the roads fill with cars, buses and slow-moving sightseers, and patience is needed. The weather is changeable, with fog, drizzle and sudden showers, and the road surface can be slippery, so take care in the dampness.
Fuel and food are no problem. Gramado and Canela have plenty of stations, workshops and restaurants, and the choice of food ranges from fondue and Swiss-style dishes to hearty Brazilian barbecue. A café colonial is the local speciality in the afternoon. Book accommodation ahead in peak periods, and consider a visit in spring or autumn, when the crowds are thinner and the light is soft.