Depart from São Paulo and head to Pousada da Fazenda in Monte Alegre do Sul, a journey of approximately 2.5 hours in an air-conditioned car. Upon arrival, head straight to the bird feeders to observe and photograph the birds and hummingbirds that frequent the area.
Stop for lunch at 12:30 PM and return at 1:30 PM to explore the other attractions of the inn and continue birdwatching. Finish the tour at 4:00 PM, with an estimated arrival back in São Paulo at 6:30 PM.
Pousada da Fazenda, built over 120 years ago, preserves the main house, which now houses the restaurant, the yard used for drying coffee beans, some settler houses, and a dovecote inclined like the Tower of Pisa.
Visitors can see how the garden is cultivated, pick fruits in the orchard, visit the distillery, walk along trails, bathe in the waterfall, and taste the farm's delights: cheeses, sweets, curds, jams, honey, and preserves produced on-site.
Monte Alegre do Sul is a small town located in the “Circuito das Águas Paulista” and 130 km from the capital. The region was heavily devastated at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century by coffee planting, but Monte Alegre had a good environmental recovery, and tourism, especially rural tourism, gained strength.
Pousada da Fazenda is a good tourist destination for its historical value and the support it provides for birdwatching in the area and the municipality. At the inn, you can see 15 species of hummingbirds, including the Amethyst Woodstar (Calliphlox amethystina) and the Stripe-breasted Starthroat (Heliomaster squamosus). You can also find the American Barn Owl (Tyto alba) and, a little more difficult, the Tawny-browed Owl (Pulsatrix koeniswaldiana).
