Mato Grosso

The state

Mato Grosso is Brazil's third-largest state and one of the few places where three major biomes meet: the Amazon rainforest in the north, the Cerrado on the central plateaus and the Pantanal wetlands in the southwest. Cuiabá, founded during the 1719 gold rush, keeps a distinctive regional culture of cururu and siriri music played on the viola de cocho, riverside fish cookery and Afro-Brazilian festivities, while the colonial first capital, Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade, lies near the Bolivian border. Today the state is also a leading agribusiness region, which shapes its road network and business travel.

For agencies, Mato Grosso is the classic entry to the northern Pantanal: the Transpantaneira road from Poconé to Porto Jofre gives access to fazenda lodges and boat-based jaguar watching on the rivers of the Encontro das Águas area. It pairs naturally with Chapada dos Guimarães, less than two hours from Cuiabá, and with the clear-water springs of Nobres, and it suits FIT, photography and birding groups, and private family safaris. Logistics note: the state runs one hour behind Brasília, distances are long and unpaved stretches are common, so programs need experienced drivers and buffer time. Southern Amazon lodges are reached via Alta Floresta.