Qualla: Cuiaba https://qualla.com/cuiaba en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:08 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/6/v/0/p/cuiaba-wk/hero-small.webp Qualla: Cuiaba https://qualla.com/cuiaba Cuiaba: Introduction https://qualla.com/cuiaba/ Photo credit Trabalho próprio (Own Work): Pedro Spoladore, CC BY-SA 2.5. You do not come to Cuiaba for Cuiaba. You come for the Pantanal, the largest tropical wetland on Earth, and Cuiaba happens to be where the road in begins. Most travelers arrive at Marechal Rondon International Airport, take a taxi into town, spend one night, and leave at dawn driving south toward Pocone and the start of the Transpantaneira Highway. The hotels know this. The tour operators know this. Cuiaba itself is a modern city of 500,000 in the middle of Brazilian cattle country, and while it is a pleasant enough stop, nobody pretends the city itself is the attraction. The attraction is 98 kilometers down the road.

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Image: Trabalho próprio (Own Work): Pedro Spoladore | CC BY-SA 2.5

]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/v/0/p/cuiaba-wk/6v0p-cuiaba-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Cuiaba: The Unfinished Highway https://qualla.com/cuiaba/ Photo credit Paixao 677, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Transpantaneira was supposed to cross the entire Pantanal. Construction stopped 144 kilometers in, at Porto Jofre, which is roughly where the floodplain begins to get serious and the bridges start getting expensive. The project's abandonment turned out to be the best thing th...

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Image: Paixao 677 | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/v/0/p/cuiaba-wk/6v0p-cuiaba-the-unfinished-highway.mp3 0:06 2 full Cuiaba: Cowboy Country https://qualla.com/cuiaba/ Photo credit Mateus Hidalgo, CC BY-SA 2.5 br. Cuiaba sits in the middle of Mato Grosso's vast cattle country, and until recently it was not unusual to see working pantaneiros on the streets in full cowboy rig: leather hats, boots scuffed from stirrups, belt buckles the size of saucers. The city has modernized, but the ranchi...

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Image: Mateus Hidalgo | CC BY-SA 2.5 br

]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/v/0/p/cuiaba-wk/6v0p-cuiaba-cowboy-country.mp3 0:06 3 full Cuiaba: Downtown in the Heat https://qualla.com/cuiaba/ Photo credit Correio da Manhã, Public domain. The centerpiece of Cuiaba is the Praca da Republica, a small green square fronted by the stylish modern basilica, the tourist office, and the small natural history museum. The Basilica do Senhor Bom Jesus de Cuiaba has Art Deco features and striking stained glass, and the adjacen...

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Image: Correio da Manhã | Public domain

]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/v/0/p/cuiaba-wk/6v0p-cuiaba-downtown-in-the-heat.mp3 0:06 4 full Cuiaba: Beyond the Wetland https://qualla.com/cuiaba/ Photo credit Brazil_location_map.svg: NordNordWest derivative work: Виктор В (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0. After the Pantanal, the other essential side trip is the Chapada dos Guimaraes, the highlands rising north of the city. Red rock formations, tall plateaus, canyons, and a string of waterfalls and swimming holes make the Chapada a one or two day excursion from Cuiaba. The birdlife...

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Image: Brazil_location_map.svg: NordNordWest derivative work: Виктор В (talk) | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/6/v/0/p/cuiaba-wk/6v0p-cuiaba-beyond-the-wetland.mp3 0:06 5 full