Cantao State Park

Cantao sits on the Araguaia at the point where three of Brazil's great vegetation types run into each other - Amazon rainforest from the north-west, cerrado savanna from the east, and the seasonally flooded Pantanal-type wetland along the river - which is why its species list is longer than the park's modest size would suggest. The floodplain holds around eight hundred oxbow lakes, cut off as the river changed course, and in the dry season these become the wildlife concentration: black caiman, giant otter, pink and grey river dolphins, and heavy birdlife along the margins. Beaches emerge on the Araguaia between June and October and are the reason most Brazilians come. Access to the interior is by boat through the channels rather than on foot.

History

The park was created by a state law of 14 July 1998 over 88,928.88 hectares to protect the Cantão wetlands, where the Amazon rainforest meets the cerrado, and its limits were changed on 4 April 2002 to 90,017.89 hectares. Its management plan was approved on 25 August 2005 and revised on 3 August 2016 (Wikipedia, Cantão State Park).

What's there

• Three biomes meeting - Amazon forest, cerrado and floodplain wetland in one park.
• Eight hundred oxbow lakes - abandoned river bends holding the dry-season wildlife.
• River dolphins and giant otters - both pink and grey dolphins in the channels.
• Araguaia beaches - sandbars exposed through the dry months.

When to go

June to October, the dry season. Three days.

Good to know

Getting around is by boat and needs a guide, which is the main cost. July is peak Brazilian holiday season on the Araguaia beaches and Caseara fills up. Mosquitoes are constant near the lakes.

Nearby

Ilha do Bananal is south on the same river; Palmas is east.

Key facts