Cambará do Sul sits at around 1,000 metres on the southern edge of the Serra Gaúcha plateau, where the basalt cliffs fall away into spectacular canyons. It is a small, rural village with little to offer beyond a couple of restaurants and a handful of pousadas — but its position puts it within easy reach of some of the most dramatic scenery in southern Brazil.
The village is the main base for visits to the Aparados da Serra National Park. The Itaimbezinho canyon, less than an hour's drive from town, is a 700-metre-deep gorge that runs for 5.8 kilometres through the plateau, with sheer basalt walls and a river threading far below. The canyon can be viewed from two rim trails or descended on a longer guided route to the canyon floor. Start early if you want the light and the silence before tour groups arrive.
Adjoining Aparados da Serra to the east is the Serra Geral National Park, which contains the Fortaleza canyon — broader and arguably more dramatic than Itaimbezinho, with a waterfall plunging 420 metres into the gorge. Access is through a private gate and the rim trail is shorter. Many visitors combine both canyons in a single long day from Cambará do Sul.
The village is peaceful and largely uncrowded outside summer weekends (December–February) and the occasional winter weekend when frost or light snow draws curious Brazilians from the lowlands. The drive from Gramado takes around three hours on good roads; from Porto Alegre, allow about four hours. If you can manage a night here rather than treating it as a long day trip, you will have the parks largely to yourself in the morning.