Since the mid-nineteenth century some of the finest coffee in all of Brazil has come from this region. The altitude (800-1,300 metres), the dry winters, rainy summers and fertile soil make for perfect coffee growing conditions. Visit some of the great historic plantation homes, pass through rolling meadows, along woodland paths and splash through clear streams.

There are still areas of Sao Paulo state that have not given way to coffee growing. In these pockets of land the Atlantic Rainforest still remains and here you can often find the Jequitiba tree, a giant of the forest, this species can grow to over 40 metres tall and 3 metres in diameter. The oldest known specimen is estimated at around 3,000 years old.

Our Coffee Trail begins at Fazenda Nova which is close to the city of Mococa. The homestead is one of the oldest plantation homes in the region and the ranch used to be twenty times the size it is today before it was shared amongst family members over the years. Horses have been bred and trained here for seven generations.

Your guides is Laura. Laura trained for her British Horse Society Assistant Instructors examination in England and is also an FEI judge and steward. She teaches dressage and jumping at Fazenda Nova and also gives clinics at other riding centres all over the country. She has encyclopaedic knowledge of the entire farm and knows the surrounding area, neighbouring fazendas and local families very well.

The horses are bred and trained at Fazenda Nova. They are mainly Arab and Mangalarga crosses. All are very comfortable, well mannered and easy to handle, standing between 14.2hh and 15.3hh, they are happy in either English or Western saddles. Your horse will be tacked up for you, but you may assist with tacking up and un-tacking your horse if you wish.