Camapua

Camapuã lies in the open cerrado between the upper Paraguay basin and the inland plateau of Mato Grosso do Sul. Its Tupi-derived name traditionally refers to two rounded hills, while seasonal streams, gallery forest and low ridges divide the land into pasture and travel corridors.

Spanish Jesuits from Guaíra established a reduction near the Camapuã stream in 1593. Paulista bandeirantes destroyed it around 1630, and the site became a stopping place on routes toward the Cuiabá goldfields. In 1723 the Leme brothers opened the Varadouro de Camapuã, a portage linking the Pardo basin with the Coxim River. Supplies, repairs and protection for river travelers gave the corridor temporary importance.

After the gold rush faded, settlement contracted to scattered cattle estates. Camapuã’s identity comes from this narrow passage between two river systems, where woodland, open pasture and seasonal water shaped movement across the plateau.