Campo Grande in the Pantanal, Brazil

A major gateway to the Pantanal, Campo Grande is a pleasant, modern city on a grid system, with wide avenues. It was founded in 1899 and became the state capital in 1979. Because of the

(red earth), it is known as the 'Cidade Morena'.

In the centre is a shady park, the

, commonly called the Praça do Rádio after the Rádio Clube on one of its corners. Three blocks west is

. Linking the two squares, and running east-west through the city, is the broad Avenida Afonso Pena; much of its central reservation is planted with yellow

trees. In spring, their blossom covers the avenue, and much of the city besides. The avenue's eastern reaches are the centre of a burgeoning restaurant and nightlife scene. City tours are on offer everywhere but they are generally expensive and there are few obvious sights.

The

receives flights from Cuiabá, Londrina, São Paulo and Santa Cruz (Bolivia). A bus leaves every 10 minutes from outside the airport terminal for the city centre and bus station. A taxi costs US$6 (10 minutes). It is safe to spend the night at the airport if you arrive late. Banco do Brasil at the airport exchanges dollars; the Bradesco just outside has a Visa ATM. The airport also has a tourist information booth (little English, many pamphlets), a post office, car rental and airline offices.

Campo Grande is well connected by bus to cities in the southern Pantanal and onwards to Bolivia and Paraguay, and to São Paulo, Cuiabá and Brasília/Goiânia. The

and a cinema, together with a number of budget tour operators for the Pantanal. Town buses leave from the Rua Vasconcelos Fernandes end of the bus station; state and interstate buses leave from the Rua Joaquim Nabuco end. A taxi to Praça República costs US$4, or it's a 1-km walk.

The BR-262 is paved most of the way from Campo Grande to Corumbá and the Bolivian border; a rail service along this route is due to recommence in early 2009 and is likely to be expensive. It is best to make this journey during the day to take advantage of the marvellous scenery.

The municipal

, www.campograndeturismo.com.br, is housed in Pensão Pimentel, a beautiful mansion built in 1913. It sells maps and books and has a database of city services and cultural information.

Just north of the Praça República, is the

, www.museu.ucdb.br, which contains relics of the tribes who suffered at the hands of aggressive Salesian missionaries in the early and mid-20th century. The largest collections are from the Tukano and Bororo people from the upper Rio Negro and Mato Grosso respectively, both of whose cultures the Salesians

were responsible for almost completely wiping out. Traditional practices such as sleeping in

or wearing indigenous clothing were banned, and the

were indoctrinated in rigorous, literalistic pre-Vatican II Catholicism. These exhibits sit alongside a rather depressing display of stuffed endangered species (mostly from the Pantanal), as well as peculiarities such as a two-headed calf, and seashells from around the world.

Next to the railway line, the

The

, a long way from the centre, covers several hectares. As well as the Palácio do Governo and state secretariats, there is a small zoo for rehabilitating animals from the Pantanal. Contact the

(

), to arrange a visit. There are many lovely trees in the park, along with cycling and jogging tracks. Plenty of capybara live in the lakes.