The Pantanal

Pantanal is the largest tropical wetland in the whole world with extensive floodplains and is a major spot for eco-tourism. The wetland has a spread of around 68,000 square miles. Some parts of Pantanal lies within the territory of Mato Grosso do Sul and some parts extend to the territories of Mato Grosso, Paraguay and Bolivia. The Pantanal is regarded as the largest productive habitat for the exotic plants and marine life. This flooded Grassland Savanna habitat attracts a dense population of birds and animals. The name "Pantanal" is derived from the Portuguese word pântano, which means marsh or wetland.

Visiting Pantanal

If you wish to visit Pantanal wetlands, avoid the rainy season from November to the start of April. Roads are not accessible due to heavy rains and the communication has to be done by boats. From July to September, there is a dry season in Pentanal and it is the best time to observe mammals and animals, as they come out for food. The water levels get down from May to October, and by the October-end, the big lakes dry up to become smaller puddles. The birds get enough of fishes for their food then. The rainy season too, is quite a favorable time to visit Pantanal, as you can observe migratory birds there.

There are a plenty of tours available if you want to visit Pantanal. You can stay here for a long time among the lush green environment watching the forest and observing the lifestyle of birds and animals. At night, you can opt for a tour where you can locate the nocturnal creatures found here. The deserted roadway project, Transpantaneira, serves as the spot for wildlife viewing. The virgin wetlands of Pantanal offer beautiful hiking spots in Chupada dos Guimaraes.

Campo Grande of northern Pantanal is also a prime destination. A bit- urbanized Campo Grande has wonderful eco-tourism spots like Bonito, where excellent accommodations are available for the tourists.

Vegetation in Pantanal
The Pantanal is regarded as the vegetation complex of Brazil and it consists of a wide range plants. The wetland includes semi-arid woodland plants, Brazilian cerrado savanna plants, Amazonian rainforest and Chaco savannas. The forests are located in the higher altitudes, while the flooded areas are covered with grasslands. The wetland houses around 3500 plant species.

Fauna in Pantanal
Being the largest habitat of animals and birds, the wetland offers a wide scope for zoologists and ecologists to carry a research here. Pantanal consists of 450 species of fish, 1000 varieties of birds, 300 mammalian species, and 9000 different subspecies of invertebrates. The rare animals found here are Giant River Otter, Marsh Deer, Hyacinth Macaw, Maned Wolf Crowned Solitary Eagle, Jaguar,Yacare Caiman, South American Tapir, the Giant Anteater,Bush Dog,etc.

Pantanal Matogrossense National Park
You can visit Pantanal Matogrossense National Park of Pantanal which is a protected area and has been created to conserve the rare and endangered specices of fauna. The spread of this park is around 1,350 sq. km. In 1993, the park was nominated as 'Site of International Importance' under Ramsar Convention treaty.

SESC Pantanal Private Natural Heritage Reserve
SESC Pantanal Private Natural Heritage Reserve is a private possession of Pantanal. Located in Northeast of Pantanal, the SESC Pantanal Private Natural Heritage Reserve was established in 1998.This reserve is also called as Pocone Pantanal. The reserve comprises seasonal streams, freshwater lakes, permanent rivers and wetlands full of shrubs.

Campo Grande of Pantanal
The Campo Grande is one of the important tourist locations of Pantanal. It is the prime gateway to the southern Pantanal and is better known as brown city due to the brown color of the soil found here. There are plenty of parks, museum, beautiful churches and patrimonies located in Campo Grande. Campo Grande has spectacular parks like:

Ayrton Senna Park
Praça Vilas-Boas
Praça Cuiabá
Praça da República
Itanhangá Park
Jacques da Luz Park
Parque dos Poderes

The famous museums of Campo Grande are :

Museum of Image and Sound
Museum of Natural History
Museum of Contemporary Art
José Antônio Pereira Museum
Dom Bosco Regional Museum
Museum of Search and Rescue Aviation

Various travel organizers of the city organize frequent city tours and plenty of lodging options are available here. Many airports too, are located in close proximity for this city. There are malls and restaurants too, located in Campo Grande, and with plenty of nightclubs here, you can enjoy a great nightlife here.

Things to do in Pantanal

There are three things you must do while your visit to the paradise of Pantanal:

Horseback Riding- As the roads are fewer, you have to take a horseback riding. This can be a pleasure travel too.
Wildlife photography- If your hobby is wildlife photography, this is the ideal place for you to visit. From mammals, to reptiles, to animals, you can capture them all in your wide-lens camera.
Hiking-Pantanal offers a host of hiking spots for the tourists,like Belmar Fidalgo Sporting Complex and Chupada dos Guimaraes, with beautiful seanic beauty.

Communications to Pantanal

There are plenty of flights from Sao Paulo city to Cuiaba, the city located in south Pantanal. From Campo Grande, there are daily flights to Corumbá, from where the Pantanal tours are organized. The tourists can get a train from Santa Cruz area of Bolivia to Puerto Suarez and from there to Corumbá, a part of Pantanal. However, you can get no organized tours from Corumbá.

You can visit Pantanal simply by sitting on a horse’s back. Pantanal has fewer roads, so communication is quite difficult. You can also explore Pantanal riding on boats or by drive trucks.

Synopsis
The Pantanal region is an important habitat for the migratory birds and is a home to marine life. Tourists from all over the world come to the wetland and enjoy the scenic beauty here. The wetlands of Pantanal are the location for the novel of Jon Grisham's-'The Testament'. The screening of a Brazilian television serial also took place in Pantanal with the same title.