Minas is the best destination to travel and eat well in Brazil

A recent survey published by the Ministry of Tourism highlights Minas Gerais as the best destination for those who want to travel and eat well in Brazil. Minas, which received the highest number of citations, was chosen by 276 travelers who participated in the survey.

The study developed by the travel website Guia Viajar Melhor in conjunction with Travel Media PR, a global marketing and data analysis agency for the travel industry, analyzed tourists’ preferences when it comes to gastronomic tourism.

The survey considered the opinion of 2,155 people in total and was carried out through social networks and the brand’s travel group. Each traveler could name a single destination, in addition to choosing the best typical Brazilian dishes.

The survey shows Minas Gerais at the top of the ranking, taking first place on the list of destinations for gastronomic trips. Bahia came in second place and Pará, in third place.

According to Guia Viajar Melhor, the diversity of Minas Gerais cuisine and the flavor of its preparations contributed to the election of Minas Gerais as the best gastronomic destination in the country.

Award-winning gastronomy in Minas Gerais

In September 2023, Minas Gerais had already been nominated as first place in the gastronomy category, during the 2nd Digital Destino Tourist Excellence Award ceremony. The award, promoted by The Data Appeal Company, was published by Agência Minas, the official website of the Minas Gerais government.

At the award ceremony, the Secretary of State for Culture and Tourism of Minas Gerais, Leônidas Oliveira, highlighted the importance of Minas Gerais cuisine which, according to him, is being recognized by millions of people. “I salute all the cooks, cooks, chefs, housewives, and all of us who love to cook, eat and welcome people at our tables”, said the secretary at the time.

Best destination to travel and eat well

The travel website Guia Viajar Melhor compiled some Minas Gerais preparations recommended by travelers. Cheese, dulce de leche and cheese bread were some of the most mentioned. In addition, the publication also highlighted the most famous dishes from Minas Gerais cuisine, such as chicken with okra, suckling pig, tutu, tropeiro beans and vaca atolada, which have won over the taste buds of Brazilians and travelers in general.

One of the region’s main delicacies, artisanal cheese from Minas, for example, is considered Brazilian intangible heritage by the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (Iphan). Currently, the product is a candidate to be included on the list of Intangible Heritage of Humanity. If approved, it will be the first gastronomic item in Brazil recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Cuisine is so important to the state that, on July 5th, Mineira Gastronomy Day is celebrated. Furthermore, there is a wide variety of tourist routes in Minas Gerais designed precisely based on the local cuisine. According to the Minas Receive program, of the almost 200 tourist itineraries sold by inbound tourism agencies there in 2020, 14.5% had Minas Gerais cuisine as their main motivation.

Gastronomic itineraries in Minas Gerais

According to a publication on the Minas Gerais tourist promotion page, Belo Horizonte has some of the main gastronomic routes in the region, so much so that, in 2019, the capital of Minas Gerais received the title of ‘Creative City of Gastronomy’ by Unesco

Among them, there are itineraries such as ‘Degustando BH’, which tours the city showing not only gastronomy but also local culture, and the ‘BH Central Market with a Chef’, which allows visitors to walk through its corridors trying out prepared dishes with local ingredients.

According to the publication, in the city of Munhoz there is another gastronomic experience where tourists can participate in the ‘Sabor da Roça’ itinerary, visiting artisanal producers of cheese, dulce de leche, yogurt, artisanal sausage and jams. The ‘Mantiqueira Rural’ route takes tourists to grape and strawberry plantations in the cities of Munhoz and Bueno Brandão.

For those who like beers and cachaças, the state offers the tourist routes ‘Circuito Vilas’ and ‘Fazendas de Minas’, in Santana dos Montes; ‘Rota do Malte’, in São Lourenço and Carmo de Minas; ‘Award-winning Brewery Tour’, in Belo Horizonte; ‘Rota da Cachaça’, in Belo Horizonte and Brumadinho; and ‘Beer Culture – A Sensory and Cultural Experience’, which takes place in the cities of Belo Horizonte, Brumadinho and Nova Lima.

Cheese, one of the most famous delicacies in the gastronomy of Minas Gerais, also has tourist routes for those who want to taste it. In Sacramento, tourists can take the ‘Artisan Cheese Experience and Flavors of Minas’ routes. The city of Rio Acima offers the gastronomic tour ‘Queijenharia – Curadoria Artesanal de Queijos’. São Roque de Minas and Vargem Bonita, in turn, have the ‘Rota do Queijo da Canastra’, which runs through the traditional farms that prepare the cheese.

It is also possible to find specific routes visiting coffee farms, olive oil, fruit, sausages and grocery stores in Minas Gerais, forming one of the Brazilian regions with a large concentration of gastronomic itineraries for traveling and eating well

(Estadão Conteúdo)