The star fort
Above the river.
The New Coimbra Fort is a historic military fortification on the Paraguay River near Brazil's borders with Bolivia and Paraguay, in the municipality of Corumbá, Mato Grosso do Sul. It was founded on 13 September 1775 to secure the Portuguese frontier after the Treaty of Madrid and to check raids by some Indigenous peoples, after the expedition mistook its intended site by some three hundred kilometres. From 1791 it was rebuilt in stone on the edge of a hill above a bend in the river, as an irregular star fort whose walls follow the slope. In 1801 forty-two soldiers held it through a ten-day siege. At the start of the Paraguayan War, in late 1864, a large Paraguayan force besieged it, and after two days of fighting it was evacuated by night, remaining in Paraguayan hands until 1868. The fort was listed as national heritage in 1974, is still occupied by the Brazilian Army and displays historic cannons. Getting there is a journey in itself: by boat on the Paraguay River, or by car and then boat. Visits need Army permission and are arranged by agencies in Corumbá.
Above the river.
Through the Pantanal.
On display.
On the Paraguay River, south of Corumbá, Mato Grosso do Sul
No, it is a military area and visits need prior permission.