Trip Overview

We will meet in Cuiabá, Brazil for the first night of our adventure to the Pantanal. We’ll get together for a group dinner at the hotel restaurant where we can get to know one another and answer questions about the upcoming adventure.

The following morning, we will be picked up by a vehicle and shuttled down the Transpantaneira highway, through the gateway town of Poconé, and on into the heart of the northern Pantanal. Along the way, we will make numerous stops for wildlife, and arrive at the Aymara Lodge for lunch. After the meal, we will head out for our first explorations. The lodge grounds are exceptional for bird photography, and we will get our cameras working as we wander the local trail network looking for the local ocelots and other species.

We will stick around for a full day at the Aymara Lodge, photographing the many species that occur in this part of the Pantanal. We will have access to an open safari vehicle, allowing us to explore more widely.

The following day, we will continue our journey along the Transpantaneira to the frontier town of Porto Jofre where the road ends. Our lodge, the Hotel Porto Jofre, lies near the Meeting of the Waters State Park, which protects a large area of the Pantanal ecosystem. We will have 5 nights here with morning and evening boat trips to look for wildlife, with a focus on Jaguars!

From Port Jofre, we will turn our wheels back down the Transpantaneira and on to the Pousada Piuval, our final lodge, where we will spend 2 nights. This more upland area allows us access to species like Giant Anteater which we are unlikely to encounter elsewhere on our journeys. Species like Ocelots, Jaguars, and Hyacinth Macaws are also regularly seen near the lodge.

On the final day, we will transfer back to Cuiaba in time to catch afternoon flights back to Sao Paulo and home, or head off for independent adventures in South America.