[2] The city center of Bambuí is located at an elevation of 706 meters on a plateau and straddles the 20th parallel.

Neighboring municipalities are: Tapiraí and Córrego Danta (N), Luz (NE), Iguatama (E), Doresópolis (SE), Piumhi (S), São Roque de Minas and Medeiros (W).

Some historians believe that the name of the city was given by the Negros who lived in the region and belonged to a runaway slave colony called Campo Grande.

The highest ranking municipality in Minas Gerais in 2000 was Poços de Caldas with 0.841, while the lowest was Setubinha with 0.568.

[5] Bambuí has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cwa) with hot, rainy summers and warm, dry winters.