Campo Grande is the capital city of Mato Grosso do Sul State in Brazil. It's a gateway to Pantanal region, and an unlikely foodie capital in central Brazil.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
Campo Grande is a modern, pleasant town of 875,000 inhabitants (2017) that sits in the middle of Brazilian cattle country. The city plays an important role as a regional center for services and commerce. For travelers, Campo Grande is the main gateway to the southern part of the Pantanal and to Bonito, a small town surrounded by rivers of clear waters located approximately 300 km far from Campo Grande. It is known in Brazil for as cidade morena (brown city) because of the local soil color.
Public transit in Campo Grande is composed by a network of buses. Integration is possible on the terminals, where one can change buses free of charge. Some terminals are as big as a bus station, some look more like a bus stop - such as the one deserving the main shopping mall. The fare costs R$ 3.70 (as of May 2018) and most cars only accept payment made with the city transit card. If you don't have a card, you can either ask someone to pass the card for you (have change to pay the person back) or, if you're going to a terminal, ask the bus driver to drop you at the terminal entrance, where you can pay in cash. Taxis are metered.
Around sunrise and sunset, watch out for big birds flying in pairs: those are usually macaws coming to/fro their nests atop palm trees. Smaller, toucans are identifiable by their long, colorful beaks. At night, capybaras can be easily spotted on park lawns and around 1 Lago do Amor (Lake of Love). On August and September, the blossom of ipês (golden trumpet trees, Handroanthus albus) makes for a spectacular sight. 2 Museu das Culturas Dom Bosco (Dom Bosco Cultural Museum), Av. Afonso Pena, 7000. Hosted in a modern building, there are exhibits about native groups such as Bororó, Carajá and Xavante, as well as an extensive insect collection.
1 Sarau de Segunda (Monday Sarau), Praça dos Imigrantes. Mon from 7PM. This sarau is an open mic event, mix of music jams and poetry slam. You may perform or just watch. Jugglers gather to practice on a corner, and there are drinks and food (including some vegan options) on offer. (updated May 2018) 2 Associação Colônia Paraguaia de Campo Grande (Campo Grande's Paraguayan Colony Association), Rua Ana Luísa de Souza, 610. On Sundays, the Colônia Paraguaia often hosts lunches followed by live music concerts. Entrance can be bought at the door (around R$ 30) and includes the all-you-can-eat buffet and as well as the right to dance your way through their big ballroom.
As with many other Brazilian regions, Campo Grande is a melting pot of many cultures. However, the elements of this mixture are different from those encountered elsewhere in Brazil, and the city might have an exotic flavor even for Brazilians of other parts of the country. The culinary is marked by use of manioc, cerrado fruits and nuts (pequi, buriti, bocaiúva, guavira, etc.), molasses and corn flour (fubá). It's not difficult to find alligator meat - just make sure they're sourced from alligator farms, not from illegal hunting. Arroz carreteiro (rice with beef cubes and herbs) is the typical dish of the region.
Local drink is tereré, a cold infusion made of erva-mate (mate leaves). Compared to chimarrão, the leaves are ground more coarsely, and might have all sorts of added flavors. Mercadão Municipal is a good place to shop for them. 1 Recanto da Moagem, Rua Bahia, 575. Offers a variety of beers ranging from classic recipes to those brewed with local ingredients (such as mate, guavira, etc). It operates on a self-service mode, in which you top-up a card with credits and them gets beer in one of the 10 available taps. Minimum consumption is 100 mL, making it easy to taste all flavors available. (updated May 2018) 2 Rota Acústica, Av. Des. Leão Neto do Carmo, 2121. Sun 8pm.
During the dry season (May to September), humidity levels in Campo Grande can easily drop below 30%. Such low levels can cause headache and irritation of eyes, throat, skin and nose (including nosebleeding), and it increases the risk of dehydration and respiration problems. below 30%: attention - hydrate more often than usual below 20%: alert - avoid physical activity under the sun, especially between 10am and 4pm. below 12%: emergency - avoid all physical activity To mitigate the effects of low humidity, drink lots of fluids, eat fruits, use skin moisturizer, wash face often, keep nostrils wet or use a protective vaseline-based cream such as Homeoplasmine, and sleep with a damp towel on th…
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Oct, Campo Grande typically sees ~30°C daytime highs and 13 rainy days.
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