Discover Não-Me-Toque: Fairs and Culture

Não-Me-Toque can be explored through several distinct themes: an international agribusiness fair, cultural events, and traces of Dutch culture. Agricultural production is also a tangible part of the municipality. When planning your trip, you can therefore first decide whether you are mainly interested in a fair, an event program, or cultural sites.

Fairs and events as reasons to travel

Expodireto Cotrijal is an international agribusiness fair held every year in March. If this is the main reason for your visit, you can plan your travel dates around that month. Expo Não-Me-Toque has a different focus: it showcases the potential of the municipality’s small and medium-sized businesses and includes several shows. The two fairs therefore differ in their focus—international agribusiness on the one hand, and local businesses and an entertainment program on the other.

Most Natal Iluminado events take place at Praça Dr. Otto Schmiedt. The event was held for the first time in 2021 and has offered a varied program in Não-Me-Toque ever since. Each edition of Páscoa Vida e Luz offers a cultural and artistic program for children and adults.

Traces of Dutch culture in the municipality

Ons Huisje, a typical Dutch house, was built at Praça Dr. Otto Schmiedt in 2003. Also on the square is the monument Met Kruis em Ploeg, built in 1999, in front of Cristo Rei Catholic Church. These locations make the square a specific reference point for both cultural landmarks; it is also where most Natal Iluminado events take place.

Another landmark is the Casal Holandês monument, a tourist attraction in Não-Me-Toque. It depicts a farming couple from the province of Brabant around 1930. While Ons Huisje is described as a typical house, the Casal Holandês monument centers on the couple it portrays. Those interested in traces of Dutch culture can thus find different forms of representation in the municipality.

Agricultural production as another theme

The Ovos de Granja – Nelson Bartz poultry farm in Colônia Saudades has 4,000 laying hens and produces about 2,200 eggs per day. Visits must be arranged in advance. These figures give agricultural production a concrete scale, while distinguishing it from an event program.

When looking for a vacation rental, fairs and events offer different timing cues: March is the month given for Expodireto, while for Natal Iluminado and Páscoa Vida e Luz you should check the dates of each edition. This lets you focus your search on the event that matters most for your stay.

Rio Grande Do Sul: a distinct regional context

The wider destination of Rio Grande Do Sul also offers other, distinct natural attractions. At Parque Estadual de Itapuã, Praia das Pombas and Praia da Pedreira are open to visitors. Visitor numbers are capped at 350 people per beach per day; check the restrictions before your trip.

From Trilha do Mirante at Cânion Fortaleza, visitors can see the canyon and, in clear weather, part of the Rio Grande do Sul coastline. Pedra do Segredo is also located there: a five-meter-high, 30-ton boulder balanced on a 50-centimeter-wide base. Along Trilha da Cachoeira do Tigre Preto, the waters of Arroio Segredo plunge down.

Cânion Itaimbezinho lies in Parque Nacional de Aparados da Serra on RS 429, 18 km from the center of Cambará do Sul. The upper trails, Trilha do Vértice and Trilha do Cotovelo, extend for 5 to 9 km through Araucaria forest and highland grassland to viewpoints and picnic areas. The Andorinhas and Véu de Noiva waterfalls are also visible from Trilha do Vértice. Trilha do Rio do Boi, which is 8 to 10 km long, is described differently: it passes through Atlantic rainforest and gallery forest, along the canyon slope and rocks on the riverbank, and through a river. These descriptions of the different landscapes and routes provide specific points of comparison for planning; check current access and trail conditions before setting out.

Discover more destinations: São Jerônimo, Igrejinha, Santa Vitória do Palmar, Cambará do Sul, Feliz, Rodeio Bonito, Novo Machado, Estância Velha

For the broader travel overview: Rio Grande Do Sul.