Pantanal National Park (Corumba)

Places of Interest - Brazil

Pantanal-Swamp-Brazil-National-Park-Jungle

introduction

There is a good chance that you will pass by the city of Corumba if you travel from Brazil to Bolivia or vice versa. The city looks like a dull, very vast mass of low-rise buildings in the form of houses and buildings. Nothing is less true; firstly, it is a good hub for visiting the Pantanal swamp area which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and it is also unfortunately known for contraband and the illegal hunting of animals from that same marshy park.

Arrived at the Paraquai river the city has more to offer - here a very impressive row of beautiful colored Portuguese colonial buildings and a very nice boulevard where you can relax with a piece of grilled meat and a "Brahma" beer. The buildings are the mementos that once belonged to the largest river port worldwide.

highlights

Pantanal-Swamp-Brazil-National-Park-Jungle-Crocodiles

The Pantanal

The Pantanal is the largest wetland area in the world. The region, whose name derives from the Portuguese word pântano (meaning swamp) covers also parts of neighbouring countries Bolivia and Paraguay. The Pantanal get’s overflowed in the rainy season, leaving 80% of the area under water. As a result, the Pantanal contains the world's richest collection of aquatic plants.

It is suspected that the Pantanal has the densest flora and fauna ecosystem in the world. It contains an enormous internal river delta-systems, in which various rivers from the surrounding plateaus meet. During the rainy season (December - May) the water level of the Pantanal rises more than three meters. The ecosystem is home to 3500 plant species, more than 650 bird species, 400 fish species, about 100 species of mammals and 80 species of reptiles. A number of endangered species that occur in the Pantanal are the jaguar, caiman, man-wolf, giant otter, giant armadillo, capybara and lowland tapir.

Even though parts of the imense delta are protected - the ecosystem of the Pantanal is strongly threatened by human activities, such as excessive recreational fishing, hunting, smuggling of endangered species, a great deal of tourism and deforestation in stead of agriculture. Especially the pressure for economic development (such as oil pipelines and channels for shipping) is a major problem. There are plans to adapt the Paraguay and Paraná so that seagoing vessels can sail further inland. If that happens, it will have serious consequences for the ecosystem and the annual flood cycle.

One of the things you can do in the Pantanal is a multi-day tour - you can hike (into the undeep water), fish, take a boat trip and drive a bit over the dusty dirt road that runs through the park (see below for tour ).

Corumba-Pantanal-Swamp-Brazil-National-Park-streetlife

tips & advice (2011)

Corumba - Campo Grande: from the place where you are dropped off by your tour operator coming from the Pantanal “tour” (Buraco) - there is the liner bus or microbus (4 to 5 hours) in the direction of Campo Grande - price is 50 Real.

On the boulevard (Rua Manoel Cavassa) in Corumba is a variety of terraces where you can relax and take a beer and an "assado for example.

Name: Corumba hostelling

Address: Rua Colombo

Price: 30 Real (dormitory) - including breakfast

Phone nr. : +55 67 3231-1005

Content:

Located pretty centrally between the busstation and the center of town is this fine hostel. From the outside it does not look very inviting (like the city itself) but inside it is very spacious. Firstly there is a very large room with a number of computers, a reception and outside a decent pool. In the morning, breakfast is served in a form of a cold buffet (is included in the price).

There is WIFI and the rooms are fine (dorms).

Pantanal National Park (Corumba)

Places of Interest - Brazil

introduction

highlights

tips & advice (2011)

see also:

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