Pantanal, Brazil🐆

The Pantanal is the world’s largest tropical wetland and is located primarily in Brazil, but also across Bolivia and Paraguay. It is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site and Biosphere Reserve, and a renowned hotspot for a vast diversity of wildlife. It is home to hundreds of species of birds, mammals and reptiles and famous for the chance to see jaguars in the wild.

When to Go
The best time of year to visit the Pantanal is during the dry season, which is between May and September. This is because the rivers dry up and the surrounding forests go from being flooded to dry again. This concentrates wildlife around the banks of the rivers, making it much easier to spot some of the big mammals, such as Jaguars. In addition, dry season means much less mosquito activity than during the wet season, which is a lot more comfortable.

We went at the end of February to beginning of March, which is rainy season in Brazil. We really wanted to visit the Pantanal whilst we were here, so decided to book the tour anyway. Unfortunately we didn’t see a Jaguar, although someone at our lodge did, however, we still had an amazing time and saw a huge array of wildlife including, capybaras, caimans, deer, snakes and a wide variety of birds. If you are not a fan of creepy crawlies, and mosquitos, this place, in the wet season is not for you. No matter how much mozzie spray you use, it will not protect you and we came out being able to do dot-to-dot all over our bodies.

Tour
We booked the three night, four day tour with Pantanal Jungle Lodge and we booked it through Eco Adventures. It cost us 5,500 BRL (£780) for the both of us, which included all transfers, meals, activities and accommodation.

You can visit the Pantanal throughout Brazil, with the North being a much higher chance of seeing Jaguars rather than the South. However, the tours cost quadruple the price at between £1,500- £2,000 per person. Our tour, was the cheapest one we could find in the South and it was pretty insane. A detailed day by day itinerary of what we got up to will be below. The activities we did are the same for everyone, but can change on the days depending on the group you are in. You will do one to two activities in the morning from 7:30am after breakfast and then one or two activities after lunch at around 3:30pm.

How to get there
To get to the Pantanal, you have to make your way to Campo Grande. The easiest way to do this is get an overnight bus from São Paulo, which can take around eighteen hours. It is also a four hour drive away from Bonito if you decide to stop there beforehand. If you are coming across the border from Corumba in Bolivia, the Jungle Lodge is also pretty close, around a couple hours or so away. So, you have a few options on how to get to the Pantanal.

Once you are at Campo Grande, you will be picked up from the bus station and taken to the office to pay for the tour. If you pay in cash, you end up saving a bit of money. We then had a four hour mini bus transfer to Baraco das Piranhas, which is the pick up and drop off point to the Jungle Lodge. An employee from there will collect you in an open Jeep where you have the chance to spot wildlife on the ten minute drive to the lodge.

The Jungle Lodge is pretty amazing, and not what we were expecting at all. We thought we would be in small rooms, no air con or WiFi, but we were wrong. The dorms are eight beds with a shared bathroom, have good lockers for personal items and really good air con units. Each person is given a towel, soap and shampoo/conditioner bottle on arrival. The dining area is huge, with a pool table and bar that serves all kinds of drinks, has free coffee and tea and sometimes cake for new arrivals. It has a small pool outside, perfect to relax in in between activities and is right on the river. Every day we saw a variety of different birds, caimans, and capybaras swimming in the natural pools and river. However, because it is right by the river, the mosquitos, in the wet season can be pretty bad. Make sure you bring light weight long sleeved clothes and strong mosquito spray!

Day 1

Day 1 included making our way to the Jungle Lodge from Campo Grande bus station, getting us in at around 3:30pm. Once we checked in and got our things sorted, our first activity was canoeing down the river. We paddled and let the current take us down, spotting different wildlife as we went. We did this for a few hours before getting picked up and watching the sunset on the way back. We then had an hour or so to relax and get ready for dinner, you can choose when to go as long as it was between the time slots. All meals are a buffet style, with breakfast from 6:30am - 8:00am, lunch 12:00pm - 1:30pm and dinner 7:30pm - 9:00pm.

Day 2

We decided to watch sunrise every morning at 5:30am as the weather was really good and you could see the sun fully rise in front of our lodge. We then went to breakfast when it started an 6:30am as most morning activities start from 7:30am. After breakfast, our first activity was a Jeep Safari followed by a short walk through the Pantanal. The Jeep Safari to our walking route was pretty cool and we saw loads of little caimans and a variety of different birds, including our favourite, the Toucan.

We then went on our trek through the Pantanal. This activity, in our opinion was our least favourite, because it wasn’t a proper planned, well walked route with a path. We were taken to the sister farm where we first walked to this small lake to see Giant River Otters. They were very cool to see, as during this time most of them have left. We also got to see the gorgeous, Hyacinth Macaws. Apart from this we didn’t see a lot and we just were kind of walking through bushes aimlessly. We believe there is a second walking route, but because another big group had gone just before us, I think they chose a different route to avoid it from being too crowded.

After lunch, our afternoon activity was fishing followed by a swim and float down the river. We were given fishing rods made out of bamboo and some bait and went to the bottom of our Lodge. If you are lucky, you might be able to catch Piranhas. We sadly didn't catch anything as it started pouring down whilst we were trying. Once the rain stopped, we got some noodle floats and jumped into the river to float down along with the current. This activity was very fun and relaxing, even though I saw a lot caimans floating in the river minutes before.

We then went for an evening sunset boat trip down the river to spot more caimans and wildlife. We spent about forty minutes spotting fireflies and caimans bright red eyes and seeing them in their natural habitat at night! You also get the chance to look for Jaguars who might be hiding in the trees near the river! Friends of us saw two when they went!

Day 3

After waking up for sunrise and having breakfast, our first activity was a four hour boat ride down the river, through the Pantanal to spot more wildlife. It was very hot and long, so make sure you are stocked up on suncream, mosquito spray and water. We saw so many different bird species, howler monkeys, wild deers and capybaras.

After lunch, we had a couple hours to chill and relax by the pool before going to the sister farm and go horse riding through the Pantanal. This activity was about an hour and a half and ended just before sunset, so we got to see a gorgeous one as we drove back to the lodge.

Day 4

The last day includes breakfast, a morning activity and lunch before checking out at 1pm. For us, we did the Jeep Safari and short trek again. This is because we did an extra activity on day 2 with the fishing, so we had nothing planned for the morning we were meant to leave. Sadly, we didn’t see any Jaguars and the walking trek was exactly the same as the one we did on the second day, so it was a little disappointing for us.

We then got taken to the Baraco das Piranhas pickup point to wait for our transfer. This is the same place you were dropped off at the start before you were taken to the lodge. If you are going in wet season, when you go to this pick up spot, you 100% must cover up properly, even if it is thirty degrees or more! As soon as you get there, you are swarmed with mosquitos, your whole body will be covered and if you are not wearing long sleeved clothes, you will be bitten all over. We made this mistake, and had to rush to get everything covered up, don’t leave your feet out without socks or trainers as they will go for them and trust me, it’s painful!

You will then have to wait for your transfer here, which can take up to a hour to arrive. When our transfer came, it was a small van and the driver left the door open and wouldn’t let us close it. This meant that many mosquitos entered the van and stayed with us the entire journey back. So just make sure that you cover up and have strong mosquito spray!

Overall, we would definitely recommend booking the Pantanal! If you are a wildlife lover, this four day trip is completely worth it. You get to see a vast variety of animals and birds and if you go during dry season, you will have a higher chance at seeing a Jaguar in the wild.

Additional Photos