Biribiri is a ruined textile village 12 km north of Diamantina, set in a valley of the Serra do Espinhaço where the Jequitinhonha River runs clear over rock ledges. The village was built in the 1870s as a self-contained industrial community — workers' housing, a church, a school, and the factory itself — and abandoned in the early 20th century when the enterprise failed. The stone and plaster buildings stand largely intact but unoccupied, giving the place a particular atmosphere of arrested time.
The Rio Biribiri forms a series of natural swimming pools below the village, popular with visitors from Diamantina on weekends. The water is cold, clean, and startling after the heat of the cerrado. A rough dirt road connects Biribiri to the town; the 12 km can also be walked along a marked trail through the scrubland. One of the better half-days available from Diamantina.