The Cavalhadas are the centrepiece of Pirenópolis's Festa do Divino Espírito Santo, held 50 days after Easter each year. The spectacle re-enacts the legendary battles between Christian knights and Moorish forces, played out on horseback over three days in the town's purpose-built arena. The riders wear extraordinary medieval costumes — the Christians in blue and gold, the Moors in red and black — and perform choreographed charges, battles, and ritual surrenders to an audience that crowds the stands.
The broader festival around the Cavalhadas includes street processions, music, fireworks, and religious ceremonies. If you can arrange your visit to coincide with it, the festival is one of the most visually remarkable events in central Brazil. Outside festival time, the arena sits empty and the town returns to its quiet colonial rhythms — but the craft shops selling Cavalhadas masks and decorations give a sense of how central the tradition is to Pirenópolis's identity.