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Pantanal South / Bonito
Brazil's undiscovered wilderness, the world's biggest floodplain is an ecological sanctuary with extraordinary bio diversity and abundance of wildlife. Click on Images on the menu bar and see what incredible fauna expects you. The Gateway is Campo Grande and try to combine Bonito with all means. |
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| The City |
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Campo Grande, the capital of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, is not the place you are probably heading to. Apart some interesting agricultural aspects it doesn't offer turistical attractions (it is seen as the tropical version of the North American corn belt, Mato Grosso do Sul is also cultivating soya, wheat and cotton plantations and is one of Brazil's main producers. It is also one of the country's main rearers of beef cattle, pigs and poultry). You might stay there fo the night in order to bring your flight schedule in agreement.
Back to the Pantanal. The state includes two thirds of the Pantanal (marshlands) which is the largest flooded area in the world, inhabited by an infinite variety of creatures, and Bonito, a city surrounded by aquaria of crystal waters and a large number of grottoes and caverns in an almost perfect state of conservation.
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| History |
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The first settlers - bandeirantes and adventurers - to arrive in the hinterlands of South America were attracted by the amazing tales about the huge wealth of the region. A Portuguese man by the name of Pedro Aleixo was the first explorer to arrive, in 1525, in what is today the state of Mato Grosso. According to the Treaty of Tordesillas, the region belonged to Spain and therefore, since the beginning of the 17th century, Spanish Jesuits began to found missions between the Paraná and the Paraguai rivers. From then onward, the discovery of large amounts of gold began to attract more and more explorers, speeding up settlement in the area. In 1748, Portugal expanded its territory and established the capitania of Mato Grosso, building villages and forts to protect it from the Spaniards, until boundary disputes between Portugal and Spain were finally settled by the Treaties of Madrid (1750) and Saint Idelfonse (1777).
With the decline of gold production, as of the early 19th century, the region went through a period of decadence. In 1892, Mato Grosso experienced an unsuccessful secessionist movement against the government of President Floriano Peixoto. In 1917, the state suffered federal intervention due to serious disputes between the north and the south. In the first half of the 20th century, owing to the arrival of rubber tree trappers, cattle raisers and erva-mate growers, economic growth was restored in the state. In 1977, the state was dismembered, with the establishment of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
Campo Grande - Founded in 1889, the capital of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul occupies an area of 8447 km2, at an altitude of 532 metres above sea level, 1134 km from Brasília, the national capital. Its population is made up of 50.97% women and 49.03% men.
The growth of the city dates from the opening of the railway to Corumba, on the Bolivian border, in 1914. As the main commercial, industrial and agricultural centre of the old State of Mato Grosso, the city benefited from strong links with Sao Paulo and other states of the southern region of Brazil. The main economic activities in the city are still linked to trade and the processing of agricultural produce and livestock farming. The principal agricultural products are soya beans, maize, sugar cane, tomatoes, cassava, rice and black beans.
For many years the city had separatist ambitions, which led it to support the uprisings in São Paulo against the Federal Government in 1924 and 1932, in exchange for guarantees of support for its independence from the State of Mato Grosso. Such support would come later, when the State of Mato Grosso do Sul was finally created in 1977.
Among the main tourist attractions of the city of Campo Grande are the Dom Bosco Museum, which houses important natural history collections and extensive ethnographic material on the indigenous inhabitants of the region; and the Casa do Artesão, which sells articles made from leather, wood, straw and other materials used by Indian and local artisans.
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| General Inf |
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TELEPHONE AREA CODE
Campo Grande – 067
CLIMATE
The climate of Campo Grande is tropical-humid, with dry and wet seasons. The mean annual temperature is 26 and rainfall is around 1500 mm per annum.
October to March is the rainy season so much of the low-lying Patanal is under water during these months. The water starts receding in March and then comes the dry season when the lagoons and marshes dry out.
CLOTHING
Should you be for business in the city, long trouser and a good shirt are usually enough. Don’t overdress, Brazilians, especially from this rural region, wont find you smart.
In the lodges feel free to dream your dream of Indiana Jones.
ELECTRICITY
Campo Grande 110 V
AIRPORT
Airport of Cuiabá, 7km from down town
HOTELS
City Hotels offer a vast range of options, some of them being really high standards in Brazilian terms. Frequented often by business men, it may be necessary for you to stay overnight, since your flight’s arrival may be late, too late, to go to the distant lodges the same day.
BUSINESS HOURS
09:00-19:00, Banks 10:00-16:00
TAXIS
Easy to stop from the pavement, but should you be in rural area, start planning your departure a bit in advance.
MEDICAL
Good private clinics in the cities. Lodges are equipped for smaller incidents.
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| How To Get There |
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The Pantanal is roughly divided into two parts: The South and North. Apart from ecological nuances the main distinction is the gateway to access the Pantanal In the case of the South it is Campo Grande.
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| Restaurants |
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The region offers some great fish dishes typical of the Pantanal. Pintado and Pacu are the two most popular fish and these are prepared in different ways and served in the many restaurants. One of the most traditional dishes is mojica , a type of fish soup with pieces of pintado cooked together with manioc, spring onion and coriander. Another speciality is Pintado a Urucum; the fish is fried lightly and served with a sauce made from cream, coconut milk, sometimes a tomato sauce, and grated cheese. Pacu frito is also popular but watch out for the bones and piranha soup is worth trying – beware though - they say it is an aphrodisiac!
The other specialty from the Patanal is crocodile meat, which you may want to try if you feel it is ecologically acceptable.
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| Night Life |
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Unless you feel this urgent need to dive into the night we consider it a better idea to save your strengths for the next days transfers and excursions. In Campo Grande Avenida General Rondon is a popular night spot for the young. Another option is around the Praça where there are several bars that serve beer and snacks - and this is about it.
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Enjoy Adventures, Emotion, Nature and Events!
Mato Grosso do Sul has no limits for tourism. It is a place that fascinates. Full of colours, lights, sonds, fragances, tastes, accents and traditions. It has the most exhuberant fauna and flora of...
The People
The people from Mato Grosso do Sul are an attraction themselves. A result of the mixture of Paraguayans, Bolivians, Lebanese, Spanish, Arabics, Japanese and Native Indians who make up the combination...
Tasty Gastronomy
The gastronomy o Mato Grosso do Sul is pure art in perfumes, forms, colours, in combination with seasonings and spices, roots and grains. It is influenced by the Indigenous, Arabic, Japanese, Paraguayan,...
Charming Handcrafts
The handcraft production of Mato Grosso do Sul is rich, diverse, made of wood, fibers, gourds, clay, fish skin, cattle bone, and horn, weaving, sculptures of sandstone, miniatures of the Pantanal fauna...
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