As if the Amazon region were not enough, Brazil also covers another wildlife paradise, the Pantanal. The Pantanal is the world's largest wetland and lies south of the Amazon in the centre of the South American continent covering an area larger than France - some 230,000 square kilometres. Something less than 100,000 sq km of this is in neighbouring Bolivia and Paraguay; the rest is in Brazil, split between the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. An area of some 130,000 hectares (325,000 acres) in the south of Mato Grosso state is now a nature reserve.

There are very few places on earth where it is so easy to see so much wildlife at close quarters as in the Pantanal, which occupies an arguably unique ecological niche as an unparalleled biogenetic reservoir. The great expanse of swampland in Western Brazil is home to the greatest concentration of fauna in the New World and is perhaps the most exquisite gallery of all for observing Brazilian fauna. It is home to more than 600 species of birds, 350 kinds of fish and an abundance of reptiles. Many of these are also found in the Amazon, but seeing them there is much more difficult because of the dense forest cover.

Plant and animal life is rich because the plains shelter many different environments, each one with very specific biological characteristics. There are regions of higher lands, always dry. There are others, lower and permanently flooded. And the intermediaries, only covered by water in the rainy season (October to April).

When the waters recede in April, the Pantanal becomes an ornithologist's playground: wood ibises (the symbol bird of the region), giant red-necked storks (known locally as tuiuíu), hyacinth macaws, parrots, toucans, both blue-throated and red-throated piping guans, rheas, curassows and roseate spoonbills are just a few of the more exotic species to be seen.

There are some 350 varieties of fish, from the giant pintado, weighing up to 80 kilos, to the tiny, voracious piranha (prized for its supposed aphrodisiacal powers). Here we have one of the largest stocks of fresh water fish in the world. Excellent catches include pacu, suribim, bagre, giripoca, piraputanga, piapara, cachara and pirancajuva, to name but a few.

Animal life is represented among others by giant and collared ant-eaters, four species of opossum, five armadillo species, black-tailed marmosets, monkeys (including spider monkeys and noisy black gibbons), maned wolves, South American coatis, southern and giant river otters, ocelots, margays, jaguarundis, pumas, three peccary species, marsh deer, yellow anacondas and the ubiquitous capivaras, a species of giant aquatic guinea-pig. Probably the most impressive sight is the yacare caiman (alligator). To spot large quantities of them, all one has to do is to take a short walk along the river banks. And, extraordinarily, man and his domesticated cattle live side by side with wild animals with little friction.

Until the eighteenth century the whole region was Indian territory. Today, the vast wetlands of the Pantanal are still the land where many of Brazil's remaining Indians live. Several tribes remain in northern Mato Grosso (meaning "thick wood"), living as they have for centuries.

MATO GROSSO & MATO GROSSO DO SUL
Cuiabá, the capital of Mato Grosso state, is a lively city that once enjoyed a gold boom. The city itself is known for its clean streets and outdoor cafes, making it much more hospitable than the grimy cities of the Amazon. It is easy to reach by flight from major Brazilian cities. While in Cuiabá, it is possible to visit the church of Bom Jesus dos Passos, the Geodesic centre of South America, the Museu de Artesanto, and the Museo de Índio. From the nearby town of Poconé, 102 km (63 miles) from Cuiabá, one can drive into the Pantanal along the partially completed Transpantaneira Highway. The rich amount of wildlife is a common appearance along the roadside. In fact, the road is known to provide one of the few real chances of seeing a big cat.

Not too far outside of Cuiabá lies the Chapada dos Guimarães National Park. The park offers a one day tour to such sites as the artificial waterfall Salgadiera, the dramatic canyon of Portão do Inferono (hell's gate), the falls of Salto do Véu de Noiva, and the viewpoint of Chapada do Guimarães Mirante just eight miles outside the small city of Chapada. While this tour might give you a good introduction to the park, Chapada dos Guiamarães is best seen off the beaten path. Through the savannahs and sub-montane forests, one can see a great variety of wildlife including maned wolves, black-capped capuchin monkeys, and harpy eagles.

Founded in 1889, the village of Campo Grande began to grow when the railway came through in 1914. In the late 1970s Mato Grosso do Sul splintered off from Mato Grosso and Campo Grande became the capital of the new state. In less than forty years Campo Grande has been transformed from an insignificant settlement into a buzzing metropolis, with a population rapidly approaching a million. Both Campo Grande and Cuiabá are good bases for excursions into Brazil's best kept secret.

There are two distinct seasons in the Pantanal: In the rainy season (October to April, wettest in February), two thirds of the Pantanal is underwater, mosquitoes abound and cattle crowd on to the few islands remaining above water. In the southern part, many wild animals leave the area, but in the north, which is slightly higher, the animals stay. It is a good time to see many of the shier animals because more fruit, new growth and other high calorie foods are available.

The dry season (May to September) is the nesting and breeding season. The best time of the year to visit the Pantanal is during the cooler and dry winter months of June, July and August. When the waters recede, wide sandy riverbanks are exposed, jacarés (alligators) bask in the sun and capivaras frolic amid the grass. The trees are in bloom; the birds are nesting by the hundreds in swamp trees. Warm clothing is needed at night, since temperatures can fall to 10º C.

According to local tourist authorities, malaria has been eradicated from the vast alluvial plain of the Pantanal. However, given that it is the biggest inland swamp in the world, mosquitoes should be no surprise.