Brazil Tours & Travel - The Brazilian Pantanal

The Pantanal is the world's largest freshwater wetland, a seasonally flooded plain fed by the tributaries of the Paraguay River. At 175,000 square kilometers (68,000 square miles), it is almost 10 times the size of the Everglades.

Located in the upper Paraguay River basin, the Pantanal straddles Brazil's border with Bolivia and Paraguay. About 80 percent of the Pantanal is in Brazil, between Cuiabá and Campo Grande. Please, also have a look at the detailed map here!

The largest flood plain in the world, the Pantanal has a rhythm governed by its rivers. In the wet season (Nov-Apr), rivers swell an spill over to cover a vast alluvial plain for months. As the water drains (from May onwards), the land dries up and the situation slowly reverses. In winter (Jun-Aug), temperatures fall to 10 degrees, but in the summer it's very hot and humid during summer.

The Pantanal is also one of the world's most productive habitats.
Annual floods, fed by tropical rains, create a giant nursery for aquatic life, including 260 species of fish, from the giant pintado - weighing up to 80 kilos - to the tiny, voracious piranha. As the waters recede in the dry season, the Pantanal attracts a great influx of birds and other animals - one of the hemisphere's greatest natural phenomena.
Birds are the principal life seen in the those flooded area. There exist about 650 different species, including the hyacinth macaw, jabiru stork, plumbeous ibis, both blue-throated and red-throated piping guans, rhea, toucans, cuarasow and roseate sponbill.
Probably the most impressive sight is the jacaré (Yacare Caiman).

The capital of Mato Grosso state, Cuiabá is a modern pleasant town of 450,000 that sits in the middle of Brazilian cattle country. It's not unusual to see folks on the street in cowboy duds, and it's a great place to stock up on boots, saddles, and other western gear. There is not a lot to see here, and Cuiabá doesn't merit a vitis on its own. The city serves as the main gateway to the northern part of the Pantanal - the Transpantaneira Highway starts just 61 miles (98km) away - and as the jumping of point to the Chapada dos Guimarães.

Founded at the end of the 19th century, Campo Grande is a fairly new town and an important hub for the region. When Mato Grosso state was split in two in the '70s, Campo Grande became the capital of Mato Grosso do Sul. The Pantanal in Mato Grosso do Sul is less wild, more given over to cattle ranching, and significantly harder to access. In addition the south Pantanal is not as rugged and pristine as the north Pantanal.
If you have a few extra days in this region consider a trip to Bonito to swim in the crystal-clear waters of the Rio Prata or Sucuri, and maybe try some rappelling or caving.