Imagine mountains in the tropics, overgrown with all sorts of wonderful plants and gorgeous araucária trees. Then, there’s the fresh mountain air, yes, fresh, though the natives might prefer to call it cold because in Campos do Jordão temperatures can easily slide down towards zero.

You’ve just finished your cup of mulled wine and scan the menu for lunch. Do they have fondue? That’s right. Why not, you say to yourself and call the waiter.

The waiter says something, but you don’t hear it because you’re considering whether or not to take the funicular and check what the city looks like from above.

‘Excuse me?’ you ask.

‘Will you want your fondue with meat or just cheese?’

You breathe in the fresh mountain air, weighing the options or, rather, wondering what the heck meat fondue is when the waiter suggests: ‘If you take the rodízio, you get all of them, including chocolate.’

The choice is clear. Some minutes later, the waiter puts a pot of melted cheese on the table, accompanied by assorted vegetables, guava jelly blocks, nuts and, if you’re lucky, odd additions like fries or fried potato balls. With it come a grill plate and various pieces of raw meat to grill before plunking them into the fondue. There’s bread, too, of course, but admittedly a less exciting choice in the Brazillian fondue. After you’ve had all the fondue you could possibly eat, which is what rodízio means, you’re ready for dessert: chocolate fondue with all sorts of fruit, cookies and marshmallows to cover in chocolate.

This is only a small part of why we keep returning to Campos do Jordão. The town is a mere two-and-a-half-hour drive from São Paulo, which we’ve learnt is a very short trip by Brazilian standards. The town is a cute mix of winter and the tropics. Think mulled wine, hot chocolate and knitwear, the very cool sock store Inverness, different leather products and, most importantly, Christmas lights that adorn the trees all year long.

If you want to get out of the city, take a walk in the woods and fill your lungs with the crisp smell of the tropical forest, then Campos is the place to go. The lush trekking paths stretching among the gorgeous araucária trees, cheese and chocolate fondue galore and the perpetual Christmas feeling, are only some of the things that make this town so irresistible. That, and a bath.

A bath, you say? What’s so special about that?

As you can imagine, a tropical climate doesn’t exactly call for baths and most places just don’t have tubs. That’s why when found, they are much more appreciated.

The main sights in Campos are the nearby forests and natural sights, such as the Horto Florestal state park, where you can take a nice walk in an organised environment. Despite the instructions not to feed the wildlife, the only animals we’ve seen there were capybaras, birds, butterflies and a small cobra. Paths or trilhas in the Horto Florestal range from easy 5 km ones to a bit shorter, hilly ones that require hiking shoes.

It’s not all wilderness, either: you can sit down for coffee or a nice lunch in Dona Chica Restaurante or visit their shop where you can buy local produce from cheese, beer, olive oil, wine, red rice, gin and honey to plates made of soapstone and rare fruits like tamarillo, aka tree tomato. The latter has a unique taste that combines the taste of passion fruit with that of tomato, citric, slightly bitter and amazingly refreshing.

You’d miss out not to visit one of the local microbreweries. We liked Cervejaria Gård’s hipster selection of craft beers, from IPA to amber and their absolutely delicious cheese plate, including an oven-baked local cheese called Queijo Jordão.

The Horto Florestal isn’t the only natural place worth visiting. There’s the magnificent Pedra do Baú, one of the highest peaks in the Mantiqueira mountain range, which you can reach by car and offers a nice view over the valley beyond. You might want to stop in one of the picturesque villages like Santo Antônio do Pinhal where you can find excellent restaurants like Donna Pinha that regularly hosts seasonal food festivals from pine nuts to artichokes. Though most of our trips were made over the weekend, you certainly won’t be bored if you decide to stay longer.

One of the things Campos is known for is chocolate. You can get it in the form of fondue, truffles, drinks and chocolate fountains that seduce passers-by from the window shops. That’s not the only thing Campos has to offer to those with a sweet tooth. Think waffles with ice cream and fruit, or so-called Swiss Pancakes (‘Crepe Suíço’) where the toppings are baked into a waffle-like crust and enjoyed fresh, on the street.

The other specialities of Campos include trout and a variety of dishes made with pinhão, the giant pine nuts from the araucária trees.

Our favourite places to eat are concentrated in Capivari, a cute Christmas-inspired artificial town centre with a nice market and vibrant life.

Trattoria Salvador, a classic Brazilo-Italian place offers live music, performed by a creative musician who found a way to play his saxophone wearing a mask. For typical winter stuff and a taste of German roots in the city, you can visit the popular Baden Baden brewery that offers classic wintery dishes like sauerkraut and piles of sausages. Due to its popularity, Baden Baden is likely to be packed and require some waiting and patience to get in. We found Mercearia Campos to be an excellent choice for all who like Brazilian cuisine, including classics like tapioca cubes, steak and of course the local fondue.

St. Moritz has a very decent cheese fondue, though we found that the selection of assorted things that come with it tends to change with the seasons.

If you’re looking for something more boutique and special, visit Empório dos Mellos in the outlying village of Mellos, serving an absolutely delicious selection of carefully prepared dishes using local ingredients. There’s a shop, too, where you can buy sustainably sourced ingredients, from red rice to wine.

In July, Campos do Jordão hosts the biggest classical music festival in Latin America with many free and a few paid concerts, often taking place close to nature, for example at the Felicia Leirner Museum, a very nice sculpture park. At any rate, we highly recommend visiting the city for a taste of winter any time of the year.