Pantanal Tour / Wildlife

Day 1- Cuiabá / Southern Amazon
Arrive at Cuiabá Airport at 11:00am 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. (B,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 / Nobres (blue lagoon) After breakfast we will drive to Nobres. Here you will join a different biome known as the ‘Cerrado’; a vast tropical savannah-grassland wich covers 20% of Brazil. This area is characterised an enormous range of plant and animal life. According to World Wide Fund for Nature it is the richest savannah in the world in terms of flora and fauna diversity. Arrive at the Bom Jardim Lodge and check into your room. Lunch is followed by an afternoon swim in the natural swimming pool at Estivado River. Here you will see monkeys and many different species of fish. Then a short drive to the Macaw Lake; so named because of the large numbers of macaws, parakeets, parrots and other bird species which come to roost here at sunset in the tall palm trees which surround the lake. Return to the Lodge for dinner and overnight. (BL&D).

Breakfast is followed by a memorable snorkelling experience in the Blue Lagoon. The Lagoon is fed by three separate springs and set within forest occupied by capuchin monkeys. As its name suggests; the water is an extraordinary blue colour with a magical, luminescent quality produced by the algae and magnesium present in the limestone. Even at the Lagoon’s deepest points, clarity is never lost. You will be surrounded by many varieties of fish, some of which will even try and nibble your toes!

Afterwards snorkelling in the Salobra River; where you will be carried along by a gentle current under the shade of the Amazon Forest. There will be a few obstacles to negotiate such as fallen trees and branches, but your guide and a local snorkelling instructor will always be on hand to help.

After breakfast, we will be heading on to the Aroe Jari Cavern. This is the largest cave in Brazil open to visitors. Next on the itinerary is the Lagoa Azul (Blue Lagoon). This is quite a long walk through the Cerrado and you’ll need to have had a good breakfast before hand as lunch isn’t until around 3:00pm. After lunch you’ll visit one more waterfall and Mirante (lookout point) before returning to Chapada dos Guimarães. Dinner and overnight stay at Hotel Turismo. (B,L&D).

After breakfast, the journey will also take you to the pretty waterfalls of Cahoeira dos Namorados, Cachoeirinha and Véu de Noiva. 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 we drive to the Pantanal. Several stops will be made in order to appreciate the spectacular flora and fauna along the way. This will also provide an excellent opportunity for wildlife photography. Arrival at the Porto Jofre Hotel for dinner and overnight.(B,L & D).

Early morning breakfast is followed by a boat ride in the State Park ‘Meeting of the Waters’ looking for signs of recent jaguar activity on the river banks. Lunch. Afterwards we return to the boat looking for the mighty big cat and other interesting wildlife such as capybaras, black howler monkeys, iguanas, caiman and several types of different bird species. Return to Hotel after sunset. Dinner and overnight at Hotel Porto Jofre. (B, L& D).

Once again we will travel by boat after an early breakfast at 5:00am. Today we will be travelling further up the Cuiabá River. Most of the day will be spent exploring this remote region which is excellent for wildlife and nature observation. We will have lunch on the boat in order to spend more time in this rich tapestry of wildlife. Then back to the boat in search of more wildlife until sunset. Dinner is followed by a night safari by car, using a spotlight to try to detect animals such crab-eating foxes, tapirs, caiman and nocturnal birds. Stops will also be made to give you the chance to experience the magical sounds of the Pantanal at night. You will typically hear the haunting calls of nightjars and potoos as well as the general hubbub of bullfrogs. Overnight at the Hotel Porto Jofre (B, L & D).

After breakfast, we will begin our drive north on the Transpantaneira Road to our next destination where we will be staying at the Pousada Rio Clarinho. This is yet another fantastic area for observing wildlife. Once you have settled into your new accommodation and had a short rest, we will go for a walk along the course of the Clarinho searching for tortoises, anteaters, antbirds as well as the colourful toucan. This environmentally diverse area is a collage of gallery forests (deciduous and non-deciduous) in addition to savannah and shallow pools which support an astonishing variety of wildlife. Dinner and overnight stay at the Lodge Rio Clarinho. (B, L & D).

An early morning start at 5am in time to watch the sunrise from the top of a 20m high observation tower positioned by the river. This will also be an opportunity to observe both nocturnal and diurnal animals through a telescope. Afterwards, a short canoe trip to spot the endangered giant river otter; a highly sociable animal who hunts and plays in packs. Their loud grunting and chirping calls generally mean you will hear them before you see them. These graceful creatures are truly wonderful animals to watch. Breakfast followed by hiking. Lunch and discussion on everything we have seen on the tour, using our Pantanal Wildlife Tick List as a reference. It will then be time to pack up and return to Cuiabá in the afternoon. You will be dropped off at the airport or city hotel according to choice.