Chafariz do Kaquende

Updated April 16, 2024

Sabará: um roteiro pelos principais pontos turísticos

## Chafariz do Kaquende, Sabará (MG): history, legends and how to visit

Chafariz do Kaquende is one of those places where Sabará’s history is literally flowing in front of you. Built in the 18th century and still fed by a hillside spring, this colonial fountain has supplied fresh water to residents and travelers for generations and remains one of the city’s best-known landmarks. Minas Gerais

Below you’ll find a factual, on-the-ground style guide to understand what you’re looking at, the stories behind it, and how to fold a stop here into a day in Sabará’s historic center.

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## Quick facts

– Location: Rua São Pedro, Centro Histórico de Sabará, Minas Gerais, Brazil (historic commercial area of the old town). Minas Gerais
– Coordinates: approx. -19.8929, -43.8129 (from your data; consistent with mapping platforms).
– Construction year: 1757, during the gold-rush boom in Minas Gerais. Minas Gerais
– Builders: João Duarte and José de Souza, cited in historical documents and municipal tourism materials. Minas Gerais
– Water source: a spring on the Morro de São Francisco, channelled downhill to the fountain since colonial times. Minas Gerais
– Name origin:
– In Tupi-Guarani, Kaquende is reported to mean “crystal-clear water that springs from there”.
– In an African language tradition, it is interpreted as “young, strong and courageous.” Minas Gerais
– Heritage status: part of Sabará’s ensemble of historic fountains protected as cultural heritage by municipal and national bodies. DE SABARÁ
– Access & price: open-air public fountain on a street corner; municipal tourism and state tourism portals list it as free to visit. Minas Gerais
– Popularity: tourism and guide sites consistently list it among the main attractions in Sabará, and recent crowd-sourced rankings place it among the top sights in town, with visitor ratings around 4–4.5/5 as of 2025 (ratings can change over time).

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## Why this small fountain matters so much

### A working piece of 18th-century infrastructure

When Kaquende was built in 1757, Sabará was a key node in the Estrada Real and in the gold economy of Minas Gerais. Fountains were not decorative extras; they were essential public utilities. Here, water from a hillside spring was captured, channelled, and delivered to the urban core, providing a reliable source of clean water long before piped networks. Minas Gerais

For centuries, residents came here with clay pots and, later, plastic gallons to fill up. Several current-day descriptions still mention locals using the chafariz to collect water, underscoring that this is not just a museum piece – it has remained part of everyday life for many people in Sabará.

### Baroque details and traces of empire

Architecturally, Chafariz do Kaquende follows the classic Minas Gerais baroque fountain style: Minas Gerais

– A stone masonry structure rendered and painted in white with colored pilaster-like edges.
– A central stone basin at ground level, where the water collects.
– Two spouts (bicas) projecting from the façade, currently shaped like rustic, organic forms that some visitors compare to animal heads.
– A stone-soapstone shield and decorative elements, once bearing the Portuguese royal coat of arms; these emblems were removed or defaced around the time of Brazilian independence, a story corroborated by official heritage notes. Minas Gerais
– A cross at the top, typical of religiously influenced civic works from the period.

Historic photographs from Brazil’s national statistics institute show that, despite restorations and repainting, the overall silhouette and layout have remained consistent over the decades, reinforcing its value as a preserved colonial infrastructure element rather than a later replica. | Biblioteca

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## Legends: from “who drinks always returns” to the Kaquende “diabinho”

Like many long-used water sources in Brazil, Kaquende is wrapped in stories.

### The “you always come back” tradition

One of the most cited local sayings is that anyone who drinks water from Chafariz do Kaquende will eventually return to Sabará. This belief appears repeatedly in local tourism texts and visitor reviews, and it’s often mentioned by guides leading walking tours through the historic center.

It’s presented as a piece of folklore, not a literal guarantee, but many visitors deliberately take a sip as a light-hearted ritual, especially at the end of a day exploring the city.

### The more surreal “little devil” tale

A more elaborate legend recorded in local cultural storytelling projects tells of a “diabinho” (little devil) said to live in the fountain. According to this narrative, on certain full-moon Fridays he would leave the fountain in the form of an attractive young man, seduce women around town, and then disappear back into the chafariz, leaving them heartbroken – sometimes pregnant with another “diabinho”. The same tale adds that this figure can grant favors if people drink three sips of Kaquende’s water with the left hand while making a wish. das Letras

This story is explicitly presented locally as folklore and imaginative storytelling, not as a belief endorsed by authorities or churches. It does, however, illustrate how strongly the fountain is embedded in Sabará’s cultural imagination.

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## Is the water safe to drink today?

Historically, Kaquende’s spring water has been described as clear, fresh and suitable for drinking, and many recent visitors still mention filling bottles there. Minas Gerais

That said, a few important caveats are worth highlighting for up-to-date, health-conscious travel:

– Water quality can change over time. None of the public tourism portals or heritage pages provide current microbiological testing results. They focus on history and tradition rather than formal potability data. Minas Gerais
– Recent vandalism and restoration efforts have affected parts of the structure, including decorative elements and the metal or stonework around the spouts. Local news, social posts and municipal communication in the last few years report incidents of damage followed by repairs and the removal of original pieces for safekeeping.

Because of this, the safest, most accurate stance is:

> Treat the water’s drinkability as a historical characteristic and a local tradition, not as a guaranteed, continuously monitored public supply.

If a reader is considering drinking from the fountain, it’s prudent to ask locals or check for any posted notices from health or municipal authorities at the time of the visit. That keeps you aligned with current reality, which can change after maintenance works, drought, or infrastructure updates.

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## Visiting Chafariz do Kaquende: practical tips

### How to get there within Sabará

– The fountain stands on Rua São Pedro, in the Centro Histórico, a street with cobblestones and colonial houses that once formed part of Sabará’s main commercial axis. Minas Gerais
– Official tourism sources note that it is close to the Igreja de São Francisco, making it easy to integrate into any walking route that links the historic churches and museums. Minas Gerais
– Sabará itself lies roughly 25 km from Belo Horizonte, connected by road; this distance and relationship to the capital are confirmed in municipal and regional tourism descriptions.

### When to go & how long to stay

– As an outdoor structure on a public street, there are no formal opening hours or ticketing gates. Tourism entries simply describe it as a free, open-air attraction. Minas Gerais
– The visual experience is straightforward: you see the baroque façade, the cross, the shield, the twin spouts and the stone basin. Many travelers combine a brief stop here with time to photograph nearby streets and facades documented as part of Sabará’s historic ensemble.

### Accessibility notes

– The fountain sits on a sloped, cobblestone street, which can be uneven underfoot. Images from professional photo agencies and traveler reports clearly show irregular stones and a slight incline. Imagens
– For visitors with reduced mobility, this may require assistance or careful pacing; there is no reliable, public information about ramps or specific adaptations right at the fountain as of the latest sources. Minas Gerais

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## How to combine Kaquende with a broader Sabará itinerary

Even though this guide focuses on the fountain itself, Kaquende makes the most sense as one stop on a compact historic loop through Sabará. Travel guides and municipal tourism materials repeatedly suggest pairing it with nearby attractions such as:

– Museu do Ouro (Gold Museum) – housed in a colonial building that once belonged to the Casa de Intendência, giving context to the gold-rush era that paid for civic works like Kaquende.
– Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Ó – one of Minas Gerais’ notable baroque churches, often highlighted for its architecture and decorative program. Travel Guide
– Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos and Praça Melo Viana, where another historic fountain (Chafariz do Rosário) anchors the square.
– Teatro Municipal (Casa da Ópera) – referenced as one of the oldest functioning theaters in Brazil, adding another layer to the city’s 18th–19th-century cultural life. Travel Guide

From a content-strategy perspective, phrases like “historic walking route in Sabará’s centro histórico” and “day trip from Belo Horizonte to Sabará” are natural places to create internal links to your broader Sabará city guide and Belo Horizonte hub page, helping readers move from this specific attraction into planning their entire day.

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## Preservation and responsible behavior

Recent years have seen episodes of vandalism against Chafariz do Kaquende, prompting public concern and municipal actions to protect original elements – including removing some parts for safekeeping and installing replacements on the façade.

Given that:

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