Visiting Brazil: Bonito (MS)

The city of Bonito is located on the southwestern corner of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul and can be visited any time of the year. But experienced travelers advise: the ideal time is between December and March – the rainy season. During that season, local vegetation is green, animals come out from their hides – since there is plenty of food to be taken -, rivers’ water levels are high and waterfalls are gorgeous.

Between May and August local fields are dry, there is constant burning for pasture and local fauna runs away looking for better hides. Visitors arriving to Bonito soon realize it: the word “bonito” (“beautiful”) is not enough to describe the wonders created by nature in that region. This humble city lost in the heartlands of Mato Grosso do Sul surprises everyone with its crystalline water rivers with plentiful fish, grouts and waterfalls that attract tourists from the world over. The great concentration of lime in the soil around the area where Bonito is located is responsible for the transparency of waters and by then existence of a wide variety of geological formations. And the best way of appreciating local natural beauties is by going on an adventure tourism tour.

The most indicated activities include diving in caverns, observing the underwater fauna and walking along trails in the forest. Places like Grutas do Lago Azul (Blue Lake Grouts) and the Mimoso Grout, the Natural Aquarium, ands rivers Sucuri, Peixe, Formoso and Prata, are the most indicated. There are a great number of grouts with underground, deep lagoons into which experienced divers may risk to explore. It was here, in Lagoa Misteriosa (Mysterious Lake), that diver Gilberto Menezes de Oliveira reached the depth of 121 metros, the deepest underwater dive ever recorded in Brazilian caverns. Some agencies offer dives going no deeper than 20 meters without risks for amateur divers, in the Mimoso Grout. But pay attention, espeleo-diving is indicated only to those who have great experience and an adequate equipment.

Bonito is a model-city in terms of tourism organization. It has adopted a system of visitations with the purpose of preserving the local natural environment. Therefore, tourists may only visit rivers, lakes, caverns and forests – the majority of which are located inside private properties – if accompanied of guides accredited by local agencies. To avoid negative impacts on nature, it has been established a maximum number of tourists per day who may visit each attraction. And nature thanks. Come and visit Bonito, and appreciate its natural beauties, in the very heartlands of Brazil. Those who come here just love it.

Weather:
Bonito’s weather is humid and tropical. It is hot and rainy between October and March. But between June and August, the weather is dry and cold, and temperatures may go below 10ºC. Annual average temperature is of 22ºC.

Links:
www.portalbonito.com.br
www.bonitoonline.com

posted by nscafuro @ 7:46 AM