Cuiabá, the capital of Mato Grosso in West Brazil, has more to offer than organised tours to the wetlands of the Pantanal. Spend a few days of sightseeing to learn about the city and region's historic and religious heritage – displayed in several museums – as well as South America's geodesic centre.
The Rondon Museum on Brazil's Indigenous Tribes
Mato Grosso and the Amazon are Brazil's states where most of the remaining Brazilian Indian tribes live. Mato Grosso alone numbers more than forty indigenous population groups. El Museu do Indio [or the Rondon Museum] features their history through colourful pictures, extraordinary feather headdresses and masks, as well as objects like woven baskets. Outside stands a replica of a traditional Indian home, called an "oca".
University UFMT, on Avenida Fernando Correia da Costa. Opening hours: Mon-Fri 8-11am / 13-17pm and weekends 8-11am. Free of charge.
The Historic Museum on Mato Grosso's History
Cuiabá was founded by goldseekers in 1719 and has grown into a city where nowadays the main activities consist of agriculture and cattle raising. The city has few authentic buildings from the early days, but some of them have been preserved and restored. They mostly house government institutions.
The museum of history, "El Museu Histórico", is situated in one of these historic buildings, named "Tesouro do Estado". This museum provides information and exhibits on the foundation and colonisation of Mato Grosso through paintings, black and white photographs and paraphernalia of the early days. As in Rondon's Museum, the explanatory panels are in Portuguese only.
Praça da Republica. Opening hours: Mon-Fri from 8-11am / 13-17 pm. Free of charge.
Cuiabá's Museum of Sacred Art
Museu de Arte Sacra, the museum of sacred art, is situated adjacent to the twentieth-century Bom Despacho Church. The museum displays gold-embroidered robes and other possessions of its archbishop Dom Arquivo [early 20th century], as well as a selection of holy images.
Praça do Seminário. Opening hours: daily 8-11am / 13-17 pm. Free of charge.
South America's Geodesic Centre
The city has the honour of being located in the geodesic centre of South America as it was calculated by Marechal Rondon in 1909, and is visualised in a tall monument in the Praça Moreira Cabral. In 1979 it was concluded by radar photos that the exact equidistant point between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans in fact lies in National Park Chapada dos Guimarães, thirty-five kilometres as the crow flies or about seventy kilometres by road north of Cuiabá.
Cuiabá's Tourist Attractions
Cuiabá's museums tell the story of the Mato Grosso and the city's history, and give insight into the lives of the indigenous tribes that inhabit Mato Grosso – which may be a good preparation before embarking on an excursion into the interior.
Karin-Marijke Vis - Karin-Marijke Vis is a bilingual writer (Dutch-English) who has been traveling in Asia and South America since 2003.
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