Day 1 Cuiabá / Southern Amazon
Arrive at Cuiabá Airport at 11am where you will be met by your guide.  Transfer to your accommodation at the Pousada Jardim da Amazônia by car, a journey of around 3½ hours. There will be a stop along the way for lunch which will be a typical Pantanal meal of barbecued beef served with rice, beans, eggs, manioc, mashed potato and salad.   Once you arrive at the Lodge you can enjoy a refreshing swim in the natural swimming pool which is fed from a nearby spring.  You may also like to try a caipirinha cocktail and some regional fruit. There will be dinner and an overnight stay at the Jardim da Amazônia Lodge. (L,D).

Day 2 Amazon
After breakfast you will set off on a forest walk to explore this world famous ecosystem; your guide will use their knowledge and experience to help develop your understanding of the region’s natural history.  Arrive at Cabana for a picnic lunch.  The Cabana is a small structure set up by the owner of the Lodge and is close to the river St José do Rio Claro. You will be served a classic Pantanal meal of matrinchã baked in pacova leaves (similar to banana leaves).  This is served with rice, beans, manioc, rusted plantain spiced with cinnamon and a variety of salads.  Lunch is followed by a short, tranquil siesta in a relaxing Brazilian hammock.  Afterwards a trip in a speed boat travelling up stream of the Rio Claro to a lagoon called the Lago da Sucuri.  Many species of fish are clearly visible in the crystalline water.  The beautiful landscape is home to many reptiles including turtles, caimans, lizards and snakes.  The boat will pass through the lagoon and back into the course of this meandering river.  The day’s excursion finishes with a relaxing swim in the river before returning to the Lodge by canoe.  As the journey is downstream, the gentle current of the river makes paddling very easy.  After dinner at the Lodge a night safari looking for capybaras and tapirs.   This is also an opportunity to listen to the magical sounds of the Amazon by night.  Overnight stay at the Pousada Jardim da Amazônia. (B,L,D).

Day 3 Amazon / Chapada dos Guimarães
After breakfast we will drive to Chapada dos Guimarães.  Here you will join a different biome known as the ‘Cerrado’; a vast tropical savannah-grassland which covers over 20% of Brazil.  This area is characterised by an enormous range of plant and animal life. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature it is the “richest savannah in the world in terms of flora and fauna diversity”.   The Cerrado is also graced by a stunning gorge with beautiful waterfalls and a wide variety of wildlife.  Red and green macaws, blue finches and agoutis are often seen here. There will be a break along the way for lunch at a restaurant in Nobres followed by a swim with the fish in the clear, blue waters of the Recanto Ecologico Lagoa Azul.  This is a protected area containing both the Blue Lagoon and many rivers.  The Lagoon is fed by three springs and offers perfect conditions for snorkelling.  You can expect to see Piraputanga, Mato Grosso, Dorado, Curimbata, Piava and many, many other species of fish.  The Lagoon flows into the Rio Salobra which is an ideal spot for a refreshing swim. This little known piece of paradise provides an experience you are unlikely to forget.
Continue driving for another 2½hrs to the Hotel Turismo in Chapada dos Guimarães for dinner and overnight accommodation. (B,L,D).

Day 4 Chapada dos Guimarães
After breakfast your guide will take you on a 7km drive to Mirante (Portuguese for ‘lookout’).  From the car you will see the Cuiabá skyline and the start of the flatlands that eventually become the Pantanal. The journey will also take you to the pretty waterfalls of Cahoeira dos Namorados and Cachoeirinha.  Lunch is in front of the waterfalls at the Cachoeirinha Restaurante, where the excellent food is typical of the region. This is followed by a leisurely swim by the falls. In the afternoon, an hours drive to the Cidade de Pedra (City of Stone).  Erosion has carved out this amazing geographical site giving the appearance of city ruins – hence its name. Jagged pillars of sandstone rise above a gorge which sweeps down into a vast green valley.  Here you have an excellent chance of seeing Red-and-Green Macaws.  At dusk, the fiery red sunset illuminates the entire area in a dramatic display of colour and light.  Return to the Hotel, then a pleasant evening stroll around this charming town.  Dinner will be in a local restaurant with overnight accommodation at the Hotel Turismo. (B,L,D).

Day 5 Chapada dos Guimarães / Pantanal
After breakfast, your guide will drive you to the spectacular Pantanal region.  Several stops will be made during the trip to observe the very many different types of wildlife along the way.  Arrive at the Lodge in time for lunch.  In the mid-afternoon you will take a short boat ride to see a variety of wildlife including kingfishers, caimans, iguanas, monkeys and literally dozens of different species of birds.  There will also be a short stop to fish for piranhas before returning to the Lodge for dinner and overnight stay at Pousada Rio Claro. (B,L,D).

Day 6 Pantanal
At sunrise a canoe trip down the Rio Claro to see the large flocks of scaly-headed parrots, blue-fronted parrots and orange-winged parrots.  Breakfast is followed by a three hour horse ride over the open grassland and woodland to places normally difficult to reach on foot.  We will be searching for anteaters, collared peccaries and plants used in both cooking and medicine.  After lunch, we will drive down the Transpantaneira (one of the best places in the world to spot wildlife) all the way to the Hotel Mato Grosso. Dinner will be at the Hotel before returning to the Rio Claro Lodge.  The journey back will incorporate a night safari.   You are likely to see tapirs, crab-eating foxes, ocelots, marsh deer, and crab-eating raccoons. Arrive at the Lodge for overnight stay.(B,L,D).

Day 7 PANTANAL
An early morning walk at sunrise along the Rio Claro River followed by breakfast.  Depart for the Araras Eco Lodge, another excellent area for spotting wildlife.  Lunch at the Lodge, then in the afternoon your guide will lead you on a walk through the forest around the water pools until sunset.  You will be searching for anteaters, coatis and the rare Hyacinth Macaw.  Dinner is followed by a night walk in the surrounding area looking for local nocturnal wildlife such as the great horned owl, tapirs, crab-eating foxes, raccoons and others.  Overnight accommodation is at the Araras Eco Lodge. (B,L,D).