Ponta Grossa (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpõtɐ ˈɡɾɔsɐ] ⓘ) is a municipality in the state of Paraná, southern Brazil. The estimated population is 355,336 according to official data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics and it is the 4th most populous city in Paraná (76th in Brazil). It is also the largest city close to Greater Curitiba region, so within a radius of 186 miles (300 km) of Ponta Grossa.[2][4] It is also known as Princesa dos Campos (in English: Princess of the Fields) and Capital Cívica do Paraná (in English: Civic Capital of Paraná). The city is connected to the Caminho das Tropas (in English: Path of the Troops), being one of the network of routes used by drovers (tropeiros) in the middle of a high hill inside a grassy vegetation.[5] The city is considered of average size, located around a central hill,[6] while most of its growth occurred in the second half of the twentieth century with the weakening of the primary economy.[7]