The Pantanal is the second ecosystem in the world for greatness, after the near Amazzonia, and it is the greatest inside alluvial lowland of the world, that with his 230.000 kmq, extends almost him in the center of southern America among the states of Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil.
The Brazilian part of the Pantanal, with 140.000 kmqs is the widest and it divides in the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso of the South.
For those pertains to the Mato Grosso the main access to the Pantanal is Poconè, defined the capital of the Pantanal, which marks the beginning of the Transpantaneira the only road that penetrates in the heart of the Pantanal; the other access, of however smaller importance, is Caceres next to the Bolivian border.
The Pantanal is characterized by a dry season and a rains season and the alternate of these two periods it makes to change radically the surrounding panorama and the presence-visibility of some animal and floral kinds in comparison to others.
The Rain season begins toward November, when the water of the river Paraguay and of its tributaries it begins to overflow flooding the whole region, and it finishes toward May, when the river reenters in its bed and the water leaves the place to a vegetation typical of the African savanna.
This particular and unique ecosystem exist for his morphological features, because it's a great plain surrounded by mountain that demarcate his borders and which receives the aboundant water from theirs rivers. Is in this marvelous and symbiotic environment that we meet Chapada dos Guimaraes, a place with spectacular plateus of red stone, with canyon and waterfalls, dipped in the luxuriant forest, and Nobres, very charming place where is possible to fluctuate in breathtaking natural aquariums, immaculate sources and relax themselves in waterfalls considered among the most beautiful in the world. The vegetation of the Pantanal, with 1700 kinds of plants, it is a mixture of savanna, forest, grassland and caatinga (halfdry vegetation formed by cactus and bushes, typical of the Sertao).
Under the faunistic aspect we remember that the Pantanal boasts the tallest concentration of fauna of the New World and that in the zone they are present around 650 kinds of birds,

80 kinds of mammals, 50 kinds of reptiles and 260 kinds of fishes.
Among the characteristic birds in the zone we mention eagles, herons, hawks, kites, buzzards, woodpeckers, sparrow hawks, ibis, parrots of various kinds (among which the rare macaw hyacinth), the jabirù (symbol of the Pantanal), toucans of various kinds, hummingbird, martin fishermen, storks, ostriches, etc...
Monkeys of various kinds, capivara, foxes, wolves with the mane, tapirs, peccary, armadillos, bucks, raccoons, ant-eaters, giant otters, ocelot and jaguars are some of the kinds of mammals that you can met in the zone; caymen, anacondas and iguanas are the most important kind of reptiles present.
As for the Amazzonia, the nature is absolutely the owner in this region, but unlike the most famous neighbor, the Pantanal is characterized by an easier accessibility, thanks to the Transpantaneira, a road not asphalted but easy to run along, that crosses the whole Pantanal Matogrossense, therefore the moves result simpler; smaller presence of bugs "annoying" and dangerous (how mosquitos, ants or spiders) and, above all, an absolutely incomparable fauna's visibility, where also the most careless visitor is not able to not see the wonder that the nature introduce under him eyes.
The principal sources of maintenance for the region are the ecotourism and the breeding (the livestock lives for the more in harmony with the wild fauna); it is present an activity of auriferous mining. To point out the best period to visit the Pantanal results a very arduous assignment because, as already said, the zone is characterized by two different seasons, both very fascinating, and therefore depends everyone of us what's loooking for in his own trip; for instance, if one has a preference for the vision and the study of caymen or of semiaquatic mammalian, as tapirs or capivara, the best period is between July and October, in the dry season, when in the few puddles of water remained many of these animals, contrarily, if one has a preference for the study and the meeting of mammals the damp season it is surely more profitable because the animals crowd in earth's oases granted by the waters (capoes).