São Thomé das Letras sits high in the quartzite hills of southern Minas Gerais, a small stone-built town with a reputation much larger than its size. It mixes old Mineiro religion, waterfall weekends, rough-edged backpacker energy, and a long-running taste for mysticism.
The centre is compact and odd in the best way. Start at the Gruta São Thomé, where the town's founding legend is rooted, then walk up to the Piramide for sunset over the Serra da Mantiqueira. The Toca do Picu e Pedra da Bruxa gives the town its more playful rock-and-myth character.
The waterfalls are the other reason to come. Cachoeira Véu de Noiva, Cachoeira Paraíso, and Cachoeira da Lua make a good warm-weather circuit if you have your own transport or arrange a local ride. São Thomé is not polished, and that is part of the point: come for a day of stone lanes, open views, cold water, and local stories that nobody tells quite the same way twice.