The Pantanal is one of the most prominent nature destinations in Brazil. It is one of the largest tropical wetlands in the world, an enormous stretch of land which extends into the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, as well as into Paraguay and Bolivia. Contrary to what its name suggests, the Pantanal is not a large pantano, or ‘marsh’. It is a hugely extensive alluvial plain which is partially covered with water during the rainy season and exposed during the summer. The riverbed rises up to 3 meters between one season and another. The rise in the rivers guarantees the presence of nutrients in the earth, which leads to the presence of a spectacular array of flora and fauna.
The Pantanal is for you if what you love is nature in its purest form, if you get excited at the idea of amazing fauna, if you relish the thought of taking boat trips and you don’t mind a few days of adventure… without the internet! It's the closes thing to an enormous open-air zoo that Brazil has to offer. In an hour of sailing along the river you can see more than 20 species of bird, numerous alligators, iguanas, monkeys and, if you’re lucky, other mammals such as tapirs, anteaters and even jaguars!
A typical excursion in the Pantanal is the focagem de jacarés, which involves going out after dark to see alligators, whose eyes glow incredibly when the beam of a flashlight hits them. It is also an amazing horseback ride across the region just the way the locals do it, and you cannot allow yourself to miss out on an early morning trip to see thespectacular sunrises visible this region.
If you intend to visit the Pantanal, you must not forget to bring warm clothing, particularly between the months of June and September. Binoculars are also an essential – you wouldn’t want to miss a detail, would you? And for going out at twilight and dusk, you must not forget to bring a flashlight, not forgetting mosquito repellent, of course!
In recognition of its importance, UNESCO declared a small area within the Pantanal a Natural World Heritage Site in 2000. Despite this, only a negligible proportion of the Pantanal is protected by the public authorities. The list of threats to the Pantanal seems to be never-ending. Responsible ecotourism can help to make a positive contribution to the preservation of the Pantanal. By showing those who destroy it that preserving it can be just as beneficial, or more so, than destroying it, we would reverse an alarming trend.
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