Our arrival
We had never heard of Parque Estadual das Nascentes do Rio Taquari, a state park in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul in central Brazil, until it was recommended to us by the ranger living and working in Emas National park (see our previous blog). We drove for around an hour and a half from Emas before following a narrow track to reach the entrance to the park. On arrival we found a few men working on repairing a bridge and another couple of men using their phones inside the onsite building. We tried enquiring about visiting the state park, doing some hiking, and camping overnight. Initially no one paid us much attention! Luckily, another man soon arrived who directed us to where we should park our van, and showed us where the trail starts. Perhaps they don’t get many tourists visiting!
The lookout trail
We parked up, had some lunch and set off to follow the trail. It was beautiful! The trail initially starts off in the forest, following a small river called Ribeirão Furna do Mutum. Along this stretch of the trail we heard macaws. Expecting to see more blue and yellow macaws, as we had seen a large number of them whilst driving in the region and in Emas National Park, we were surprised to look up and see red! They were red and green macaws, sitting and chatting with one another whilst they ate fruit from a tree above us. It is always a pleasure to encounter these beautifully colourful birds, and we were very happy observe them.
As the trail continued, it became more open and we were met with incredible views over an impressive landscape of forest and canyons, namely Canyon do Engano or Canyon of Deception. We enjoyed taking in the view and watching the clouds roll in before completing the circular walk back to the van. We didn’t see much in the way of wildlife during the walk, but we did spot both tapir and peccary footprints so we knew they were around.
Back near the van, there was a lake and a few interesting birds to see, including Muscovy ducks, wattled jacanas, yellow-rumped marsh birds, white-headed marsh tyrants, whistling herons and the wonderfully weird looking red-legged seriemas.
Knowing there were definitely tapirs in the area, we decided to repeat the walk again around dusk. At one point, we heard some rustling in the bushes and Ed caught a glimpse of what he thought could’ve been a tapir. But, the light was fading so he wasn’t a hundred percent sure!
Our first time seeing a tapir!
We have travelled fairly widely across Central and South America, including to many places where tapirs live. However, we had never been fortunate enough to see one – until now! We were back in the van, had cooked dinner and were ready for bed, and as the van’s sliding door is a bit temperamental Ed opened the door to close it properly and lock it. And there it was – a tapir just 50 m or so away from us! It stood and looked at us for a few seconds before slowly walking away. What luck that he opened the door at just the right moment, and that the tapir didn’t spook and run away at the sound of the door opening!
How to get there
Parque Estadual das Nascentes do Rio Taquari is relatively near to Emas National Park and it is worth visiting if you are in the area. The access track to the state park is along the Ruta 359. Enter ‘Mirante do PENT’ into Google Maps to reach the correct location. The turning is signposted, and the track is accessible to all vehicles.