An imposing temple built over millions of years, entirely designed and erected by nature, closely watched, all this time, by a mysterious stone guardian and richly decorated by the history told in the pictorial representations of several generations of Amerindians. Here is the fundamental itinerary of the visit to the Templo dos Pilar Municipal Natural Park, located in the so-called "state capital of rock art", Alcinópolis/MS. The title was conferred on it by state law No. 4,306, of December 21, 2012.
Archaeological studies carried out at the site indicate two moments of occupation by the Amerindians, one between 2 and 3 thousand years ago and the other between 10 and 11 thousand years ago (AGUIAR, 2012). In addition to the archaeological richness, the plateau maintains geological phenomena with tourist potential, composed of escarpments, cliffs and caves, as well as erosive processes such as the Temple of the Pillars Archaeological Site, the most important among the more than twenty sites found in the region.
In addition to the many manifestations of rock art, the region has several other tourist attractions and tourist interest, such as the attractions of the Serra do Bom Sucesso Municipal Natural Monument and the Serra do Barro Branco.
The area where the Temple of the Pillars Park is located is part of the Serra do Bom Jardim Municipal Natural Monument and was rescued from rural areas that exploited charcoal factories, staining the municipality with the social problems typical of this type of activity, such as slave labor and child labor. In 2007, as reported by the Public Ministry of Labor (2008), 17 workers were rescued in conditions analogous to slavery in a charcoal factory in the region.
The Park, which was listed by IPHAN in 2003, began to be structured for visitation very recently, with the organization of studies for the rich sites there. To operationalize the visitation, the City Hall of Alcinópolis has organized courses and accreditation of tour drivers (there are still no accredited tour guides) and taking care of the minimum logistical conditions for access to the "touristifiable" places.
They are "touristifiable" places, as they are far from ready for the tourist. To schedule the visitation, it is necessary to contact the city of Alcinópolis within its opening hours, and it indicates the guide. Once the tour is agreed, access is through private rural properties on about 40 km of unpaved road and with much of it in extremely precarious conditions. In the places of visitation there are no receptions, bathrooms or any other infrastructure to support the tourist. The signage is scarce and inadequate, and the conduction of the groups is done by hardworking people, who have good experience and knowledge of the dangers and directions of the sites and attractions, but little scientific information about them. But the places are beautiful.
Our visit was carried out by a conductor who made an effort to get interesting stories about the prehistoric manifestations, in her eagerness to entertain the group, but the difficulties inherent to a tourist attraction in discovery were fully compensated by the relevance of its potentialities and by the Sunset Trail, in which the spectacle of the end of the day from above the escarpments of the plateau shows all the splendor.
Apparently, tourism is still not considered a profitable business for the city, at least not enough to attract large public and private investments in its professionalization. This waiting period, of political or economic decision, is common in many of our potential attractions, but it is a place that, in the future, will be visited by larger contingents of tourists and should be one of the first to receive the attention of the hospitality and tourism sector of Mato Grosso do Sul. While the resources do not arrive, the stone guardian continues his vigil over the history, nature and beauty of this place.
