Cuiabá

Brazil

Cuiabá is a city in Mato Grosso, Brazil

Cuiabá was founded on April 8, 1719, as the capital of Mato Grosso State. It's a pleasant modern town of 500,000 that sits in the middle of Brazilian cattle country. It was once not unusual to see folks on the street in cowboy duds, but Cuiaba has greatly modernized in recent years. It's still a great place to stock up on boots, saddles, and other western gear. The city serves as the main gateway to the northern part of the Pantanal—the Transpantaneira Highway starts just 98 km (61 miles) away—and as the jumping-off point to the Chapada dos Guimarães. While in the city there is much to do and see. There's a beautiful open downtown center where you can find live music, open air shopping, street vendors, and fresh coconut water.

Sights in Cuiabá - The excellent Secretaria de Turismo gives out a very detailed map showing all the various sights in Cuiabá, complete with pictures. It's a nice try, but pleasant though the city is, there's really little to see here.

  • Basilica do Senhor Bom Jesus de Cuiabá, Praça da República. Tu-F 8AM-11AM and 2PM-6PM. A stylish modern cathedral with some nifty Art Deco features and great stained glass. Mass is at 6AM and 6PM daily.
  • Almost next door there's the yellow baroque Palácio de Instrução tel: 065/321-3391. M-F 8AM-5PM, now home to Cuiabá's history and natural history museums. Admission is R$1 (US35¢) for both. The history museum is mostly devoted to the 1860s war between Brazil and Paraguay, largely fought in this remote region. The natural history wing features a wide assortment of stuffed dead animals—all rather tatty looking—and some great Indian clubs and arrows and headdresses.
  • Down by the renovated riverside port area there's the Museu do Rio Cuiabá and the Municipal Aquarium, Av. Beira Rio s/n (where the Av. 15 de Novembro crosses the river; tel; 065/623-1440. Tu-Su 9AM-6PM. Features displays and exhibits on the changing face of the river, and a small collection of local Pantanal fish.

The centerpiece of Cuiabá is a small green square called Praça de República. The modern but very stylish basilica fronts this square, as does the tourist information office and the small natural history museum. The most important street in Centro (central Cuiabá), Avenida Getulio Vargas, runs northwest from Praça da República. Most of the city's better hotels and several restaurants cluster around Avenida Getulio Vargas about 8 blocks from the square. Directly northeast of Praça República, there's a small shopping district, centered on Rua Eng. Ricardo Franco. Two blocks southeast of Praça República, Avenida Getulio Vargas hits the broad traffic arterial Avenida Ten. Cel. Duarte. On the far side of this street there's a large city park, Parque Antonio Pires de Campos, and on the ridge behind that, the neighborhood of Bandeirantes, where there are a few cheaper hotels. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes to walk from either Banderiantes to Praça República, or from Praça República to the Avenida Vargas hotel enclave.

Basilica do Senhor Bom Jesus de Cuiabá, Praça da República. Tu-F 8AM-11AM and 2PM-6PM. A stylish modern cathedral with some nifty Art Deco features and great stained glass. Mass is at 6AM and 6PM daily.

Almost next door there's the yellow baroque Palácio de Instrução tel: 065/321-3391. M-F 8AM-5PM, now home to Cuiabá's history and natural history museums. Admission is R$1 (US35¢) for both. The history museum is mostly devoted to the 1860s war between Brazil and Paraguay, largely fought in this remote region. The natural history wing features a wide assortment of stuffed dead animals—all rather tatty looking—and some great Indian clubs and arrows and headdresses.

Down by the renovated riverside port area there's the Museu do Rio Cuiabá and the Municipal Aquarium, Av. Beira Rio s/n (where the Av. 15 de Novembro crosses the river; tel; 065/623-1440. Tu-Su 9AM-6PM. Features displays and exhibits on the changing face of the river, and a small collection of local Pantanal fish.

Three days is the minimum reasonable itinerary for the Pantanal. Four or five days allows you to take things easier; with wildlife viewing, the longer you spend in an area, the better your chances of seeing animals. Spend the minimum possible time in Cuiabá then a take a slow wildlife-spotting drive out along the Transpantaneira to a lodge.

  • Take a guided hike, and after sunset, go for a spotlight drive on the Transpantaneira to see the night creatures: capybaras, tarantulas, and (with the most incredible of luck) jaguars. It is also strongly recommended that you take the time to explore the Pantanal as it was meant to be seen, on the back of a horse.
  • Canoeing one of the North Pantanal's small rivers is a great way to spot monkeys and giant river otters.
  • After exploring the Pantanal, consider a 1-day or overnight trip to the Chapada dos Guimarães, the highlands to the north of Cuiabá. The beautiful red-rock formations, plateaus, and canyons offer excellent hiking and fabulous views, great waterfalls and swimming holes, and some excellent birdlife, including red macaws.

Take a guided hike, and after sunset, go for a spotlight drive on the Transpantaneira to see the night creatures: capybaras, tarantulas, and (with the most incredible of luck) jaguars. It is also strongly recommended that you take the time to explore the Pantanal as it was meant to be seen, on the back of a horse.

Canoeing one of the North Pantanal's small rivers is a great way to spot monkeys and giant river otters.

After exploring the Pantanal, consider a 1-day or overnight trip to the Chapada dos Guimarães, the highlands to the north of Cuiabá. The beautiful red-rock formations, plateaus, and canyons offer excellent hiking and fabulous views, great waterfalls and swimming holes, and some excellent birdlife, including red macaws.

The main commercial district in Centro is concentrated around the Praça da República. You'll find many stores selling clothing and shoes, as well as stationery, toiletries, film, batteries, and food. There are 3 great malls:

Native & Regional Arts and Crafts - A number of excellent crafts stores with native and regional works can be found around Centro.

  • Feira de Artesanato, Praça Santos Dumont, at the corner of Avenida Getulio Vargas. A weekend crafts market Saturday from 8AM-8PM and Sunday from 3PM-9PM.
  • Artindia, +55 65 623-1675. Rua Pedro Celestino 301, Centro. M-F 8AM - 11:30AM and 1:30PM - 5PM. Run by Funai, the Brazilian federal Indian department, to promote indigenous arts and crafts.
  • Casa do Artesão, +55 65 321-0603. Rua 13 de Junho 315. daily 8AM to 6PM. A bit further out of downtown, towards the river. Located in a lovely tile-covered colonial building, the Casa's collection is very large.
  • Porto, +55 65 321-0603. Rua 13 de Junho 315 at the corner of Avenida Metelo. Daily 8AM-6PM. Expensive but the quality is high.

Cowboy Equipment & Clothes -- Cuiabá is the place to pick up everything you need for that real Pantaneiro cowboy look. If you need a hat, boots, or jeans, stop by:

  • Texas Country, +55 65 322-1301. Av. Getulio Vargas 1021, Centro.
  • Selaria e Sapataria Centro Oeste, +55 65 622-1584. Av. Ten. Cel. Duarte 318. Another great store to get properly outfitted. The store sells inexpensive quality clothing and gear for real cowboys, no trendy Shania Twain-look-alike stuff. We're talking boots, hats, good jeans, gloves, spurs, and chaps; if you're going riding, your various body parts will thank you for it.

Pantanal Shopping Mall.

3 Americas Shopping.

Goiabeiras Shopping (close to downtown).

Feira de Artesanato, Praça Santos Dumont, at the corner of Avenida Getulio Vargas. A weekend crafts market Saturday from 8AM-8PM and Sunday from 3PM-9PM.

Artindia, +55 65 623-1675. Rua Pedro Celestino 301, Centro. M-F 8AM - 11:30AM and 1:30PM - 5PM. Run by Funai, the Brazilian federal Indian department, to promote indigenous arts and crafts.

Casa do Artesão, +55 65 321-0603. Rua 13 de Junho 315. daily 8AM to 6PM. A bit further out of downtown, towards the river. Located in a lovely tile-covered colonial building, the Casa's collection is very large.

Porto, +55 65 321-0603. Rua 13 de Junho 315 at the corner of Avenida Metelo. Daily 8AM-6PM. Expensive but the quality is high.

Texas Country, +55 65 322-1301. Av. Getulio Vargas 1021, Centro.

Selaria e Sapataria Centro Oeste, +55 65 622-1584. Av. Ten. Cel. Duarte 318. Another great store to get properly outfitted. The store sells inexpensive quality clothing and gear for real cowboys, no trendy Shania Twain-look-alike stuff. We're talking boots, hats, good jeans, gloves, spurs, and chaps; if you're going riding, your various body parts will thank you for it.

  • Adriano, Av. Getúlio Vargas, 985 (Centro I), +55 65 623-1664. Italian.
  • Al Manzul, (Parque) Cachoeira das Garças (Acesso pela Av. Arquimedes Pereira Lima (old highway of the mill). Classified by the magazine 4 Rodas as the best Arab restaurant in Brazil.
  • Café Cancun. It's called "funny restaurant", an entertainment house to have a fun eating, drinking, and dancing with Mexican food and wide variety of drinks. The sound is salsa, mambo, and merengue.
  • Casa Suiça, Av. Subtle Miguél, +55 65 624-2077. Chef Hans has an alpine-style restaurant with a great area outdoors. Besides plates of Swiss cookery, it serves some adaptations as well as petiscos and draft beer.
  • Cedro's, Pça. April 8, 1046 - Goiabeiras, +55 65 624-9134. Arab food.
  • Le Chez Babet, Av. President Marquês - Quilombo. French restaurant neoclassical style. The atmosphere is elegant and the service excels.
  • Getúlio Grill, Av. Getúlio Vargas, 1147 - Goiabeiras, +55 65 624-9992. Meats, sushi bar, and chops. Very busy nightclub weekends.
  • Meridian 56, Av. Issac Póvoas, 1039 - Goiabeiras, +55 65 322-4321. Fish.
  • O Mestrinho, R. Quinco Caldas, 119, +55 65 301-1690. Regional food. Weekends it has meats.
  • Morro of Santo Antonio, Av. Isaac Póvoas, 1167 - Goiabeiras, +55 65 622-0502. Restaurant, bar, nightclub.
  • Morro dos Ventos, +55 65 301-1280. Regional food.
  • Nívio's Tour, Pça. D Wunilbaldo, 631, +55 65 301-1206.
  • Peixaria Popular, Av. S. Sebastião, 2324 - Goiabeiras, +55 65 322-5471. Pantaneira cuisine: typical plates done with fish of the area.
  • Regionalissimo, R. 13 de Junho, 314 - Porto, +55 65 624-1773.
  • Taberna Portuguesa, Av. 15 de Novembro, 40 - Porto, +55 65 321-3661. Portuguese food.

Adriano, Av. Getúlio Vargas, 985 (Centro I), +55 65 623-1664. Italian.

Al Manzul, (Parque) Cachoeira das Garças (Acesso pela Av. Arquimedes Pereira Lima (old highway of the mill). Classified by the magazine 4 Rodas as the best Arab restaurant in Brazil.

Café Cancun. It's called "funny restaurant", an entertainment house to have a fun eating, drinking, and dancing with Mexican food and wide variety of drinks. The sound is salsa, mambo, and merengue.

Casa Suiça, Av. Subtle Miguél, +55 65 624-2077. Chef Hans has an alpine-style restaurant with a great area outdoors. Besides plates of Swiss cookery, it serves some adaptations as well as petiscos and draft beer.

Cedro's, Pça. April 8, 1046 - Goiabeiras, +55 65 624-9134. Arab food.

Le Chez Babet, Av. President Marquês - Quilombo. French restaurant neoclassical style. The atmosphere is elegant and the service excels.

Getúlio Grill, Av. Getúlio Vargas, 1147 - Goiabeiras, +55 65 624-9992. Meats, sushi bar, and chops. Very busy nightclub weekends.

Meridian 56, Av. Issac Póvoas, 1039 - Goiabeiras, +55 65 322-4321. Fish.

O Mestrinho, R. Quinco Caldas, 119, +55 65 301-1690. Regional food. Weekends it has meats.

Morro of Santo Antonio, Av. Isaac Póvoas, 1167 - Goiabeiras, +55 65 622-0502. Restaurant, bar, nightclub.

Morro dos Ventos, +55 65 301-1280. Regional food.

Nívio's Tour, Pça. D Wunilbaldo, 631, +55 65 301-1206.

Peixaria Popular, Av. S. Sebastião, 2324 - Goiabeiras, +55 65 322-5471. Pantaneira cuisine: typical plates done with fish of the area.

Regionalissimo, R. 13 de Junho, 314 - Porto, +55 65 624-1773.

Taberna Portuguesa, Av. 15 de Novembro, 40 - Porto, +55 65 321-3661. Portuguese food.

  • Garage Club, +55 65 3634-7611. Innovation is the word best describes Garage. The club has become a reference in the central western part of Brazil when the subject is electronic music. Some of the Top International DJs have shaken the dance floor of Garage Club in Cuiaba such as Vitalic, Phonique, Layo & Bushwacka!, Funk Dvoid, Terry Lee Brown Jr, Joris Voorn, Oliver Huntemann, along many others.
  • Praça Popular. A public space located in the popular neighborhood of the city of Cuiaba, which has many restaurants and bars concentrated around it.
  • Zumzum Bar Disco, +55 65 3623-6020. The most entertaining gay club/ bar in Cuiaba, with drag-queen performances, live music and go-go boys. Usually open from Thursdays till Saturdays.

Garage Club, +55 65 3634-7611. Innovation is the word best describes Garage. The club has become a reference in the central western part of Brazil when the subject is electronic music. Some of the Top International DJs have shaken the dance floor of Garage Club in Cuiaba such as Vitalic, Phonique, Layo & Bushwacka!, Funk Dvoid, Terry Lee Brown Jr, Joris Voorn, Oliver Huntemann, along many others.

Praça Popular. A public space located in the popular neighborhood of the city of Cuiaba, which has many restaurants and bars concentrated around it.

Zumzum Bar Disco, +55 65 3623-6020. The most entertaining gay club/ bar in Cuiaba, with drag-queen performances, live music and go-go boys. Usually open from Thursdays till Saturdays.

  • Várzea Grande — just across the river