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A longish but interesting trip can be made to the settlement of CRISTALINA , around 100km south of Brasilia in the Goias plateau highlands. Indeed, the journey itself is one of the main reasons to come, through the distinctive, savanna scenery of the planalto along the BR-040 towards Belo Horizonte. Prospectors came here looking for gold in the early eighteenth century when they came across a large quantity of rock crystal. This crystal mountain did not have much value until over a century later when the European market opened up. Today Cristalina is an attractive, rustic town, based around the mining, cutting, polishing and marketing of semi-precious stones, and quartz crystals and Brazilian amethyst can be bought here at very reasonable prices. If you want to stay, Hotel Attie, Praca Jose Damian 34 (tel 061/612-1252; $35-50), and Hotel Goya, Rua da Saudade 41 (tel 061/612-1301; $35-50), are both good. For food, Restaurante do Petronio, Av. Kaled Cozac 47, is an excellent churrasco joint.
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