Symbol of the archipelago, which contains the largest buffalo herd in Brazil, the buffalo continues to be present in the experience offered to visitors. Fazenda São Jerônimo Considered the capital of the Marajó archipelago, made up of around 3 thousand islands and islets, Soure brings together some of the region's main tourist attractions. Between the fresh waters of the Amazon and the tides of the Atlantic, the municipality invites visitors to visit mangroves, navigate streams and experience the ways of life of traditional communities. It is in this scenario that is part of the largest continuous strip of mangroves on the planet that ecotourism helps to present the island's environmental and cultural richness. The richness of this territory is directly linked to the mangroves, considered one of the most important ecosystems on the Amazon coast as they serve as shelter, food and reproduction for countless species. This diversity of landscapes also helps to explain why nature tourism is gaining ground in Soure, offering visitors opportunities to observe fauna, visit mangroves and discover one of the most biodiverse environments on the Amazon coast. "Marajó is contained in the largest continuous strip of protected mangroves on the planet. It is a region of high biodiversity, with species of birds, mammals, porpoises, whales, the two species of manatee with confirmed occurrence in Brazil, as well as turtles and fish. It is a mangrove forest with trees 50 meters high. Marajó is extremely rich in biodiversity", says biologist Renata Emim, president and founder of the Instituto Bicho D'Água, an organization that works in the monitoring and rescue of aquatic fauna on the coast of Pará. Buffalo ride at Fazenda São Jerônimo An immersion in Marajoara nature One of the ways to get to know this diversity up close is at Fazenda São Jerônimo, which gained national recognition when it served as the setting for the third season of the reality show No Limite and, years later, for the recordings of the soap opera Amor, Eterno Amor, on TV Globo. According to Jerônimo Barbosa, one of those responsible for the property, the visibility boosted demand for the destination and helped to consolidate the ecotourism developed by the family since the beginning of the 2000s. The purpose of the tour is to present a Marajó built by the coexistence between nature, culture and traditional communities. For the Barbosa family, the experience is also a way of sharing the territory where they have lived for generations. The farm was named in honor of one of the family's ancestors, Jerônimo Barbosa, a farmer and fisherman who passed on knowledge about Marajoara ecosystems from generation to generation. "Marajó is much more than the buffalo." This is how Jerônimo Barbosa, a descendant of the honoree and one of those responsible for the farm, summarizes the proposal built by the family over more than two decades. According to him, the intention was never just to show a postcard, but to present a territory marked by an ancestral history and the daily relationship between communities and the forest, rivers and mangroves. Tourism started timidly, receiving mainly researchers, biologists and bird watchers. Over time, the family studied ecotourism and interpretation of nature to transform an old route used for generations into an experience capable of awakening visitors to a new perspective on Marajó. Today, the circuit lasts around two and a half hours and includes a walk through the forest, a canoe trip through a stream, a crossing through a mangrove forest, a practically deserted beach and natural fields. The itinerary also includes experiences such as swimming and riding buffaloes, as well as presenting traditional practices, such as shrimp fishing in a corral, turu extraction and the use of Amazonian fruits. "When we leave the beach and enter the mangrove, it feels like we've entered an air conditioner", compares Jerônimo, when explaining how the difference in temperature helps visitors understand, in practice, the importance of this ecosystem. Tour shows the fauna and flora of Soure, which combines fresh water, sea, mangrove and beach Fazenda São Jerônimo Tourism to conserve When the family acquired the area, in the 1980s, the landscape was very different from that found today. According to Jerônimo, the vegetation had been degraded and the fauna had practically disappeared. Over the decades, environmental recovery has gone hand in hand with the implementation of ecotourism, favoring the return of several species and creating new income opportunities for residents of the Tucumanduba community. Today, local artisans and producers sell jams, liqueurs and other products to visitors. The change also reached former hunters, who began to act as wildlife observation guides. "Before, they hunted. Today they earn money by showing the agouti, the paca, the capybara and the chameleon to visitors", says Jerônimo. For him, nature conservation depends, above all, on those who live in the territory. "Those who keep this forest standing are precisely the local residents, the original peoples and the people who know this territory", he states. For Átila Ximenes, communications director at MUDA! Brazilian Collective for Responsible Tourism, experiences such as that of Fazenda São Jerônimo demonstrate that it is possible to increase visitation without giving up conservation. "Amazonian destinations like Soure have a strategic role in consolidating a responsible tourism model in Brazil. In areas of high relevance for nature conservation, activity planning needs to consider not only the visitor experience, but also risk management, operational safety, support capacity and ecosystem protection. The adoption of security management systems and operational protocols strengthens the destination's governance, qualifies the tourist offer and demonstrates that it is possible to expand visitation without compromising the integrity of the biome or well-being of local communities." Pesqueiro Beach, in Soure Soure City Hall Entre