Mucugê is located at an altitude of 900m in the midst of a privileged landscape.
Mucugê is surrounded by beautiful mountains, rivers, waterfalls and caves. As noted, the city is also rich in history, having as one of the most striking features, the old colonial mansions in Portuguese style.
The main backdrop to this story is mining, an activity that still takes place there, although on a much smaller scale.
The city also has a busy calendar of events that attracts tourists from different regions, in addition to museums, philharmonic and planned and tree-lined squares.
The streets are carefully cleaned, surrounded by flower beds and gardens, surrounded by mountains on all sides.
It has a wide range of tourist facilities, catering to all audiences: hotels, hostels, inns and inns. The city's bars and restaurants are busy and, in the late afternoon, expand to the streets, distributing their tables and chairs on the sidewalks.
Mucugê is listed as national heritage by IPHAN (Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional) and was built on the banks of Serra do Sincorá. Surrounded by mountains, the average temperature in the city is 19˚C.
Its main highlight is the Municipal Park of Mucuge, where the Semper-Viva Project is located, focused on education and environmental preservation, in addition to the Museu Vivo do mining.
The municipality is also privileged by its location, since 52% of its territory is part of the Chapada Diamantina National Park.
Mucugê was considered one of the most beautiful cities in Chapada Diamantina, has a reasonable infrastructure to receive visitors, preserves a set of colonial mansions and serves as a base for excursions to the surroundings.
It was on municipality of Mucugê in Chapada Diamantina, 48 km from Andaraí, that the first diamond was found.
It is said that, on June 25, 1844, Cristiano Pereira do Nascimento, godson of Colonel Cazuza do Prado, one of the great cattle ranchers in the region, went to wash his hands in the Cumbuca stream and found a diamond.
Word spread quickly; before long the “diamond rush” began – everyone wanting to wash their hands in this stream!
The garimpo attracted large landowners from other states to Mucugê, who moved there, taking their families and slaves.
diamond mining it also attracted many Europeans and Arabs, generating a power struggle, a struggle for land, slaves and the best mines.
Everything became a “God help us” where those who could more cried less, until in 1870, when the deposits were exhausted, the city directed its development to other activities such as farming and agriculture.
Mucugê serves as a base for excursions to the surroundings.
The program can include visits to caves and waterfalls, walking or cycling along the trails and canoeing on the rivers.
The Semper Viva Project, based in Mucugê, promotes studies on the local flora and tries to preserve the Evergreen flower, which was on the brink of extinction due to predatory exploitation for export, in large quantities to Europe, where it was used as a hat adornment.
Videos about Mucugê in Chapada Diamantina
History of Mucuge in Bahia
Mucugê Tourist Guide
Byzantine Cemetery in Mucugê
Mucuge Documentary12:47
Andaraí and Mucuge09:42
Tourist Points of Mucugê - Report
See also the Chapada Diamantina Landmarks
Tourist Points of Mucugê
In this beautiful city, the first diamonds of Chapada Diamantina were discovered in 1844.
One of its most interesting attractions is the only Byzantine-style cemetery in Brazil, which draws the attention of anyone arriving in the city. Houses and flower-filled squares embellish the city, which is also listed as a national heritage by the National Historical and Artistic Institute (Iphan) and was built on the banks of the Serra do Sincorá.
1. Byzantine Cemetery (SAINT ISABEL CEMETERY)
Built from 1854 to 1886, the Santa Isabel cemetery is on the rocky slope of Serra do Sincorá.
The choice of place was the result of the presence of a cholera epidemic, which led the church to prohibit burials in the religious temple. It has a set of mausoleums that reproduce miniatures of whitewashed church and chapel facades, which earned it the name “Byzantine cemetery”.
Those killed by the disease could not be buried in the church, as was the custom, as it was feared that the epidemic would spread.
Then. to “compensate” their dead for the disadvantage of not being buried in the holy soil of a Christian temple, families built beautiful mausoleums in the Byzantine and Gothic styles, imitating church facades.
2. Church of Santa Isabel
It is the main church in the city, built by slaves in the XNUMXth century.
3, Public Archive
The space exhibits documents, films and photographs about the history of the city.
4. Mucugê Municipal Park
Maintained by the City Hall with the support of the State and the Catholic University of Salvador, the park houses a center dedicated to the preservation of local fauna and flora.
Inside it are the waterfalls of Plate and Tiburtino, free access to visitors and excellent for bathing. Tiburtino waterfall is one of the waterfalls of the Cumbuca stream, where the first diamonds were found.
5. Evergreen Project
Projeto Semper Viva is a peaceful, easy and very pleasant walk to take, which takes care of the preservation of a tiny and charming flower, always alive, the one often used in bridal bouquets.
Previously at risk of extinction due to predatory extraction, the little plant now has a safe place to exhibit why it is so sought after – when taken out of the ground, it does not change its appearance for up to 60 years!
Evergreen flower is typical of Chapada Diamantina becomes a symbol of preservation.
6. Living Museum of Garimpo
The Living Museum of Garimpo operates in an old miner's hole, restored and adapted to display objects related to the history of the Diamantina cycle that started in Mucugê.
Visitors can enjoy the history of diamond mining in Bahia, also discovering natural diamonds and carbonates, English cutting machines from the XNUMXth century, all the tools used by prospectors and much more.
Visiting the Garimpo Museum is a real immersion in the history, not only of Mucugê but of Chapada Diamantina.
7. Siberian Waterfall
Anyone willing to face obstacles to reach the foot of this 5m high waterfall hidden inside a canyon will be dazzled by the 200m high stone wall.
8. Waterfall Funis
Waterfall of five natural steps, considered the most beautiful in the surroundings.
9. Cardoso Waterfall
Much of the way is made by trails flanked by beautiful rock formations and fields of evergreens.
10. Andorinhas Waterfall
Formed by several waterfalls. A little paradise!
11. Crystal Waterfall
Newly discovered, this waterfall is situated at the bottom of a canyon.
The access trail passes through fields where you can see many species of bromeliads and orchids.
12. Serra do Capa Bode
At 1.200m altitude, flying saucers would have appeared. Astronomy classes are given there for groups.
Mucugê's History
Mucugê has an interesting history, which begins with its formation in the 1844th century, being considered one of the oldest in Chapada Diamantina. It was also the location in Bahia, where the first valuable diamond stones were discovered, by a prospector known as Cazuza do Prado, in XNUMX.
This discovery attracted thousands of people to the region in search of wealth, starting a real race for possible diamond deposits around the Mucugê River. Thus, what was once a small settlement, in 1848, already had a population that exceeded 30.000 inhabitants, mostly miners and traders.
That's when the village of Mucugê do Paraguaçu appeared.
During this period, the region was developing in a wealthy way. Even today it is possible to observe the opulent mansions that occupy the center of the city, even the cemetery. This is because, in 1855, after an outbreak of cholera that devastated the country, an imperial decree, aiming to contain the high number of dead, prohibited the burial of people inside churches, a common practice at that time.
With nowhere to bury their dead, the authorities of Mucugê chose an interesting location for the construction of the cemetery: at the foot of a mountain opposite the city. As this is an old mining region, very rich in this period, resources were not spared and, in some cases, architects created the tombs with great care, imitating small Catholic churches and temples.
However, in 1870 diamond exploration collapsed, forcing the region to find other alternative economic activities. Thus, the cultivation of coffee and the raising of cattle became the main source of income of São João do Paraguaçu, name that came to be called the city in 1890, when it was elevated to the condition of Parish.
In 1917, the city is officially called Mucugê. It is in this same period that the region goes through a profound economic decline, registering a high rate of population exodus, which lasted throughout the first half of the XNUMXth century.
Faced with the extent of the economic crisis he was facing, the exploration of fields of evergreen flowers began, a species of plant with more than 400 variations existing in the region.
The European continent became the biggest exporter of the plant, used as a decoration article. Today, some endemic species of the plant are threatened with extinction.
Finally comes the Tourism, allowing to combine the historical, cultural and environmental preservation of the city, also serving as a source of income for thousands of families that live not only in the place, but in all its surroundings.
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