Buraco das Araras (Hole of the Macaws) - Jardim - Mato Grosso do Sul - Brazil

Photo: wikipedia

Discovered in 1912, this geological formation resulting from the collapse of rock blocks through thousands years ago creating this enormous cavity: it has a circumference of 500 meters (1600 feet) and the depth reaches 100 meters (330 feet). At the bottom, an emerald-green lagoon, surrounded by exuberant vegetation, is home to caimans whose survival is a mystery. Besides them and the red-and-green macaws (hence the name of the cave), mammals such as armadillos, anteaters, coatis, foxes and others 130 birds species, including ibisis and toucans, chose the place to live.

It's considered the only cave of this type in Brazil and the largest in Latin America with its own ecosystem. Worldwide, there are only five dolines with these features and this one is considered the second largest.

It's located 53 km from Bonito, around the city of Jardim, in the middle of the cerrado of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

Photo: Mirian Coura Aveiro

Photo: via flickr by Van Maia

 Underground river.  Photo: viajeaquiabril

A contemplative ride that lasts about an hour, where visitors can observe the vagaries of nature, hear the call of birds echoing on the rocky walls, ideal shelter for red macaws. If you go at the right time, the scent of flowers and fruits of the Cerrado, like guavira, will also be part of this sensory experience.

Come see the Buraco of Araras Private Reserve and feel all the sensations that nature can to offer!!

The macaws have similar routine to that of humans. Early in the morning, the birds wake up and leave the nest to go in search of food. So this time of day is best suited to do the tour, because you can see them grouped in large quantities.

To reach the lookouts at the edge of the sinkhole (dolina), you must go through a track 900 meters through the vegetation. To have no problems during the tour, the ideal is to use light and comfortable clothes, hat monitored for protection from the sun and closed shoes.The tour of the cave begins with a pleasant and short hike on a trail of about 900 meters, stopping at two watch posts for observation and photos.

The observatories have telescopes through which you can see the flight closer of birds. The corner of the macaws can also be heard on site. Some tourists prefer to take binoculars to better spotting birds. The tour lasts about 40 minutes.

It also has trails that lead to a cave with an underground river suitable for diving. It is a point with difficult access / visitation worthy tourist spot, despite the difficulties of access by dangerous trails, it is common practice to rappel descent. The rappel descent has approximately 65 meters high. To this practice look for certified instructors.

On the way down, at the beginning you can be supported on the wall (for about 10m), but then becomes negative (without footrest). Only from that point is that you see the enormity of the cave.

On this side of the hole down to the rocks there is an entrance to a cave, about 30 meters long, with a beautiful underground lake of clear water.

searches: buracodasararas, wikipedia

Photo: buracodasararas

Photo: david

Photo: wikipedia

Photo: buracodasararas

Deck (observatory)Photo: buracodasararas

Hammocks to rest... Photo: buracodasararas

Rapelling. Photo: tolongedecasa

Photo: planetaextreme

Jardim, a paradise in Mato Grosso do Sul!

With paradisiacal natural areas, Jardim (town) is the perfect place for those who want a true encounter with nature, but have little time to travel. The town, which is 239 km from Campo Grande (Mato Grosso do Sul capital) and 70 kilometers from Bonito, meets ecological tourist attractions that can be visited in one day.

Jardim offers tourist infrastructure to serve visitors who are interested in ecotourism and adventure tourism. The tours are accompanied by expert guides to be hired in the local tourist agencies.

The Rio da Prata (river) is one of the main attractions of Jardim as well as of Bonito, with its crystal clear waters is one of the best places to float and to observe numerous species of fish in the region.

Photo: lidiquadrosblog

Here what to do in Jardim:

1. Floating in the Rio (river) da Prata: Although "Bonito" take all the fame, the best float in the region is more than 50 km from the city, at the source Water's Eye, with the greatest variety of fish from local rivers - more than 50 species cataloged.

The river has the ideal characteristics for the floating (clear water, soil rich in calcareous sediments and protective riparian vegetation), and contain the greatest amount of fish between the springs in the region.

To get to the source of the Olho d'água (Water's Eye river) you have to face a track that stands out for the diversity of animals that can be seen along the way, such as capuchin monkeys, howler monkeys, agoutis, peccaries, coatis and even snakes.

The spring seems a "natural pool" of crystal clear water. At the site, visitors make a brief training for floating and swimming next to  fish shoals of different species as "piraputangas" and "dourado". The tourist has even a chance to find an alligator in the river.

You do two miles of floatation to the location where the Water's Eye meets the Rio da Prata. The visitor can then choose whether to continue floating or going down the river in a small electric motor boat. This tour lasts around four hours.

Spring seems natural pool, and visitors swim alongside fish shoals. Photo: André Seale

2.The Mysterious Lagoon: A blue water lagoon that impresses for its incredible transparency and depth, the Mysterious Lagoon is at the bottom of a sinkhole 75 feet deep, type of geological formation characteristic of karst areas that is similar to a hole, which is all covered by woody vegetation and surrounded by woods.

From 6 feet deep, the Mysterious Lagoon is considered a cave of groundwater genesis, in other words, a cavity formed by the water flow of ground water, and one of the deepest flooded caves of Brazil, reaching more than 220 meters depth, record made by Gilberto Menezes de Oliveira in 1998.

The sight of the blue abyss, the vertical rock walls, fallen trunks and small fish that glow under the light beams reflected in the clear waters turn the Mysterious Lagoon in a unique environment.

In Mysterious Lagoon visitors can choose between the floating and diving, that is a good option for the "fearless". To float it takes just mask, snorkel and life jacket. To dive are used oxygen cylinder, wetsuit and fins.

For those who have no diving experience, the most recommended is the "baptism", which reaches a depth of eight meters. The divers who took a course and are certified can opt for the basic scuba diving, which reaches up to 18 meters, or for the advanced autonomous, that reaches up to 25 meters.

Mysterious lagoon view from above. Photo: Daniel De Granville

Photo: Marcelo Krause.

“A fascinating unexplored lagoon hidden in the woods offers the visitor unique moment of wonder and relaxation”. This is the opinion of Rafael and Fabiana, visitors who have been on March 31,2012 in Mysterious Lagoon (Lagoa Misteriosa), an attraction located in Jardim – Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

3.The Hole of Macaws is another interesting attraction for observation of the red macaws. It can be an option to start the script. To visit the site, you need to get out of bed early. The attraction was known by this name because it houses a huge amount of red macaws, and birds of other species such as ibises, black birds, crows, parrots and parakeets.

The observatories have telescopes through which you can see the flight of the birds very close. The sounds of the macaws can also be heard on site. Some tourists prefer to take binoculars to better spotting birds. The tour lasts about 40 minutes.

I'm going to write a special post very soon, showing more about the Hole of Macaws...

Photo: Divulgação

4. Balneário Municipal (municipal resort) of Jardim - Starting from the Tourist Service Center, move to the BR 267 towards Porto Murtinho, after 30 Km there is an entrance on the right, go another 5.5 km to the reception of the resort.

It offers structure with restaurant, snack bar, lifeguards, grills, toilets, showers, parking, sand court, lawn area and river access for wheelchair users.

Photo: portalturismobrasil

Photo: Mirian Coura Aveiro

Photo: balneariomunicipaldejardim

Photo: google

Photo: Mirian Coura Aveiro

5. Balneário and camping of Assis - at the banks of the Rio da Prata there is an excellent area for camping, near the municipal spa of Jardim, a track with wooden floor will take you to a deck along the river. It has zip lines and springboard for best fun. Kiosks equipped with electricity, grills and sinks.

"Balneário" of Assis in Jardim-MS

"Boca da Onça" waterfall, in Jardim-MS. Photo: bocadaonçablog

some search: g1globo

Emas National Park, Goiás, Brazil!

Photo by rotabrasil

The Emas National Park is located between the states of Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul in the Center-West Region of Brazil. Literally meaning "rhea National Park". With an area of about 132 thousand hectares, covers part of the municipalities of Mineiros, Chapadão do Céu and Serranópolis in the State of Goiás, and Costa Rica, in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul. Due to its length, integrity of habitat, richness of fauna and presence of rare and threatened species, the reserve is one of the most important protected areas of the cerrado biome. It has recently been included in the priority actions for biodiversity conservation in the Cerrado and Pantanal and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

At well over 1000 square kilometers of rolling grassy fields and patches of swamp forest, the park is home to a variety of large mammals, including puma, ocelot, collared peccary, white-lipped peccary, marsh deer, red brocket, gray brocket, black howler monkey, capybara, Maned wolf, Brazilian Tapir, and Giant Anteater, and it also shelters a number of threatened bird species, including the recently rediscovered Cone-Billed Tanager. But while the promise of Emas is indeed great, the bounty of the site highly dependent on season and luck, and access tightly controlled by the inclinations of a guide.

Emas National Park also holds a small jaguar population, perhaps consisting of about 10-12 animals. Only about 40% of the reserve is a good Jaguar habitat.

Photo by Andre Pessoa

Photo by André Pessoa

Here it's the namesake greater rhea:

Photo by rotabrasil

In fact, almost the entire park was wiped out by fire in 2010, decimating the once thriving Giant Anteater population. These burned areas are excellent places to find terrestrial birds that normally secret themselves away deep in the tall grass, including Ocellated Crake and Lesser Nothura, but they have also become stages for adaptation, as Coal-Crested Finch, Campo Miner, and White-Winged Nightjar have all evolved to utilize recently burned areas for different biological purposes. Towards the end of the dry season, diverse flocks of migratory seedeaters in breeding plumage surge through the park, including rarities such as Rufous-Rumped, Chestnut, Dark-Throated, and Black-Bellied Seedeaters.(BirdingBrazil)

Cerrado is the biome that covers the sprawling Planalto Central, the central plains of Brazil. It consists of several different habitat types. So unique is Cerrado that several of the Portuguese words for the habitat types have been adapted to English. Grasslands, or campo, cover much of the region. Campo sujo has shorter grass and sparse woody vegetation. Woodlands of short, twisted tree with waxy leaves and cork-like bark make up cerrado, not to be confused with Cerrado, the biome name. Gallery forests are moist forests that follow the watercourses. Some 90% of the plant and animal species of the Cerrado are found in the gallery forests. 

Indaiá Palm trees. Photo by aceleragoias

The park holds the greatest concentration of Blue-and-Yellow Macaws outside Amazonia, and blue-winged, red-shouldered and red-bellied Macaws can also be seen. The park headquarters building for scientists are visited daily by a pair of bare-faced currasows, white Woodpeckers, streamer-tailed Tyrants and other showy birds. 

  

In addition to the mammals and large birds, the park is known for other bird specialties. (visit: focustours)

The cupinzeiros (tall termites houses)

In the early stages of the rainy season the cupinzeiros (termites houses) perform the bio-luminescence phenomenon which consists in the irradiation of a blue greenish phosphorescent light, produced by small larvae stuck to the leafs in search for food. The result is a very beautiful night show. 

Photo Flickr by Cristina Morita

Photo by rotabrasil

Photo by aceleragoias

This park holds the largest concentration of cupinzeiros per square metre in the whole world. In about 25 million registered termites houses in preserved area, the fireflies were a sideshow, especially during spring nights. Between the holes dug in a kind of "natural building", insect larvae emit an intense greenish light and give a show to form different lighting points.

The Emas National Park is a place that requires different observation, attentive to detail, and use sensitivity to perceive the richness of life adjustments such as the Indaiá palm trees with trunks buried or trees with very thick bark to resist fire that selects life natural and at the same time makes everything grow again. 

For all this diversity, gets to be frustrating leave the park knowing that knew very little of what nature presents there. Even those who live on site and research about it, know  they don't know the Cerrado, and not knowing is an exciting feature an exciting mystery.

Visitation: With the payment of an entrance fee of R$ 6,00 (for local people) and R$13,00 for tourists, you can visit a restricted area of ​​the park without tracking guide. But the rides are more productive by hiring a good local guide who helps the tourist in the observation and interpretation of natural diversity. The municipal authorities inform the phones associations of guides. The Visitation and the need of the guide must be checked in advance, because of the impending change of management plan.

There are three types of ride / observation: 

1. Interpretive trail: identification of animals by the tracks, feces and food consumed; identification of vegetation. 

2. Motorized trail: by bus or car, for observation of animals hidden in the cerrado and those who do not have time to hide with a faster approach than in hiking. 

3. Hiking in the woods or field: where you can touch the nature, feel the way to see up close birds, lizards, armadillos, anteaters and other animals.

The trails at Parque das Emas are very extensive - some with more than 40 km, and must be traveled by car. Currently incursions walking is not allowed on some trails; overnight in the park is also not allowed, but the tourists have lodging structure in the park nearby farms and guesthouses. 

The Formoso River, and other rivers, provide conditions for canoeing and rafting outside the park boundaries. There are conservation areas outside the park that also deserve to be visited.

Cross float in Formoso River